Key events in more than two years of '˜gay cake' debate

The so-called 'gay cake' case has made global headlines for more than two years.
File photo dated 10/05/16 of Daniel and Amy McArthur of Ashers Baking Company, as judgment is due to be delivered on an appeal brought by the Christian bakers who were found to have discriminated against gay man Gareth LeeFile photo dated 10/05/16 of Daniel and Amy McArthur of Ashers Baking Company, as judgment is due to be delivered on an appeal brought by the Christian bakers who were found to have discriminated against gay man Gareth Lee
File photo dated 10/05/16 of Daniel and Amy McArthur of Ashers Baking Company, as judgment is due to be delivered on an appeal brought by the Christian bakers who were found to have discriminated against gay man Gareth Lee

Here is a timeline of how the high-profile civil action and subsequent appeal has generated debate.

:: May 9 2014 - Gareth Lee, a member of the Queerspace gay rights advocacy group, places an order at Ashers Baking Company on Belfast’s Royal Avenue for a cake to be decorated with the slogan Support Gay Marriage alongside the Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie. The order is accepted by Karen McArthur and payment of £36.50 is made in full.

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:: May 11 - Mr Lee is telephoned and informed that the order cannot be completed. Mr Lee is offered a full refund.

File photo dated 26/03/15 of Ashers bakery on Royal Avenue in Belfast, as judgment is due to be delivered on an appeal brought by Christian bakers who were found to have discriminated against a gay manFile photo dated 26/03/15 of Ashers bakery on Royal Avenue in Belfast, as judgment is due to be delivered on an appeal brought by Christian bakers who were found to have discriminated against a gay man
File photo dated 26/03/15 of Ashers bakery on Royal Avenue in Belfast, as judgment is due to be delivered on an appeal brought by Christian bakers who were found to have discriminated against a gay man

:: June 26 - Northern Ireland Equality Commission writes to Ashers requesting that modest compensation be paid.

:: July 7 - The Christian Institute announces it will back Ashers after the company declines to settle the case.

:: July 8 - Alliance Party councillor Andrew Muir expresses public support for the Equality Commission bringing the case. The cake was to be produced for an event which Mr Muir was hosting during his time as mayor of North Down.

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:: October 24 - Equality Commission writes again to Ashers and puts the bakery officially “on notice” of impending court action.

File photo dated 26/03/15 of Ashers bakery on Royal Avenue in Belfast, as judgment is due to be delivered on an appeal brought by Christian bakers who were found to have discriminated against a gay manFile photo dated 26/03/15 of Ashers bakery on Royal Avenue in Belfast, as judgment is due to be delivered on an appeal brought by Christian bakers who were found to have discriminated against a gay man
File photo dated 26/03/15 of Ashers bakery on Royal Avenue in Belfast, as judgment is due to be delivered on an appeal brought by Christian bakers who were found to have discriminated against a gay man

:: November 13 - DUP MPs William McCrea, Nigel Dodds and Sammy Wilson launch a petition in support of Ashers Bakery.

:: December 8 - DUP MLA Paul Givan launches a private members’ bill in the Assembly calling for the introduction of a “conscience clause” into equality legislation.

:: March 13 2015 - Democratic Unionist MEP Diane Dodds raises the Ashers case in the European Parliament.

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:: March 24 - Hundreds of Christians attend a rally at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall, organised by the Christian Institute, to show support for the McArthur family.

:: March 26 - The three-day civil suit is opened at Belfast County Court before District Judge Isobel Brownlie. Mr Lee tells the court he was left feeling like a lesser person when his order was declined.

:: March 27 - In evidence Ms McArthur, an Ashers director, said she had taken the order to avoid a confrontation in the shop but as a born-again Christian “knew in her heart” it could not be completed. Her son, Daniel McArthur, the firm’s general manager, tells the court his family could not compromise their deeply held religious beliefs.

:: March 30 - Judgment is reserved in the case.

:: May 19 - District Judge Isobel Brownlie rules in favour of the Equality Commission. The judge finds Ashers acted unlawfully and directly discriminated against Mr Lee on grounds of his sexual orientation and political beliefs. She said Mr Lee was treated “less favourably”, contrary to the law. The company is ordered to pay agreed costs of £500.

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:: May 23 - The Republic of Ireland approves same-sex marriage following a referendum.

:: June 10 - Ashers announces it is to appeal against the judgment on six grounds.

:: June 13 - Up to 2,000 people take part in a rally through Belfast city centre calling for the ban on gay marriage to be lifted.

:: November 2 - For the first time the majority of MLAs at the devolved Stormont Assembly vote in favour of changing the law on same-sex marriage, however the proposal falls when the DUP deploys a “petition of concern” blocking mechanism. Gay rights campaigners hail it as a victory.

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:: December 3 - Two same-sex couples, Grainne Close and Shannon Sickles, and Chris and Henry Flanagan-Kanem, launch a landmark legal action in Belfast’s High Court to judicially review the Assembly’s refusal to legislate on same-sex marriage.

:: February 3 2016 - An appeal hearing is dramatically halted after a last minute intervention from the Northern Ireland Attorney General John Larkin who advises Stormont ministers on legal issues.

:: March 3 - Mr Larkin is given the green light to make representations at the full appeal hearing.

:: May 9 -- An appeal in the case of Gareth Lee v Ashers Baking Company is opened before Northern Ireland’s Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan and two other top judges in Belfast’s Royal Courts of Justice.

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:: May 9 -- A lawyer for Ashers tells the Court of Appeal the bakers believed it would be “sinful” to have provided the cake because the message was inconsistent with their deeply held religious beliefs.

:: May 10 -- Robin Allen QC, barrister acting for the Equality Commission argued in court that the bakers were not being forced to do anything against their beliefs. He said many businesses printed messages they did not associate with, citing examples of posters made by election candidates.

:: May 12 -- Attorney General John Larkin QC makes representations for the first time to challenge the “coerced expression” argument. He claimed it was a “ very great wrong” to make someone say something which conflicted with religious beliefs.

:: May 12 -- Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan reserves judgment in the case and says he will deliver a verdict as soon as practical.

:: October 24 -- Ashers Baking Company return to Belfast’s Royal Courts of Justice to hear the Appeal Court ruling.

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