Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd and others
| Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd and others | |
|---|---|
| Court | Supreme Court of the United Kingdom |
| Full case name | Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd and others |
| Decided | 2018 |
| Neutral citation | [2018] UKSC 49 |
| Holding | |
| People cannot be forced to promote a belief they profoundly disagree with | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Lord Mance (Lady Hale of Richmond, Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore, Lord Hodge and Lady Black of Derwent concurred) |
| Area of law | |
| discrimination, compelled speech | |
Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd and others [2018] UKSC 49 was a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom discrimination case between Gareth Lee and Ashers Baking Company, owned by Daniel and Amy McArthur of Northern Ireland. Lee brought the case after Ashers refused to make a cake with a message promoting same-sex marriage, citing their religious beliefs. Following appeals, the Supreme Court overturned previous rulings in favour of Lee and made a judgement in favour of Ashers. The court said there was no discrimination against Lee and that Ashers' objections were with the message they were being asked to promote. The court held that people in the United Kingdom could not legally be forced to promote a message they fundamentally disagreed with. The case became known in the British and Irish media as the "gay cake" case.