Sir, – Fionola Meredith argues that we should be appalled at the Belfast Court of Appeal decision that Asher’s bakery was guilty of discrimination. (“If you care about liberty you should be appalled by this decision”, October 25th)
I am not appalled. The whole point of running a business is to learn to make decisions with a cool head rather than an emotional one. A business discriminating as to which customers are allowed in to buy their products and services is a private members club. Or a church. Trading on the high street is not a private affair – it is a public affair.
It was the owners of the business who were offended. The business itself was only hurt by the loss of income (and adverse publicity).
If the owners of Asher’s feel this sensitive they should rebrand as “Asher’s – the Evangelical Bakery” or “Asher’s – we only ice evangelical and apolitical messages on our cakes”.
I suspect the courts would uphold any bakery’s right to refuse to ice a cake with an obscene message, a pornographic image or a message of incitement to hatred.
How a buyer uses his or her purchase is not the responsibility of the seller. A pity – if it was then there would be an awful lot less guns for sale.
– Yours, etc,
ALISON HACKETT
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – The ruling by the Court of Appeal in the Asher’s bakery case is a sad day for religious freedom and freedom of conscience.
It’s obvious now that homosexual rights take priority over religious rights. We have heard much in the media and by governments about diversity and tolerance.
A diverse society means variety or array, and tolerance means to allow differences – yet people who hold a religious view it seems are not welcome in this diverse society, their right to express their views and live by their religious convictions are being silenced and they are being excluded from the public arena.
There needs to be some way that these two diverse groups can live side by side in society without either group ramming their views down each other’s throat.
Peter Tatchell [a British gay rights campaigner] is correct when he said this ruling has set “a dangerous, authoritarian precedent”.
– Yours, etc,
MARY ROSE DOHERTY
Buncrana,
Co Donegal.