Karen McArthur told court she 'knew in her heart' she couldn't bake cake

Bakery owner Karen McArthur (pictured) said that as a Christian she does not support gay marriage and 'knew in her heart' she could not make the cake

A Christian baker who refused to make a cake bearing a pro-gay marriage slogan has said she 'knew in her heart' she could not make the order.

Belfast-based Ashers Bakery refused to make a cake featuring an image of Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie below the motto 'Support Gay Marriage'.

Karen McArthur, one of the owners, gave evidence on the second day of the high-profile legal action being heard in Belfast's County Court.

Mrs McArthur told the court: 'I knew in my heart that I could not put that message on the cake.'

Northern Ireland's Equality Commission took the case against family-run Ashers Bakery on behalf a gay rights activist customer whose order was declined.

Gareth Lee, a volunteer member of the LGBT advocacy group Queer Space, claimed he was left feeling like a 'lesser person' when his order was turned down.

It had been ordered for a private function marking International Day Against Homophobia last May.

Mr Lee told the court yesterday that he was left 'shocked' and in 'disbelief' when Mrs McArthur rang him and told him she would not be processing the order he had already paid for.

Today Mrs McArthur told the court: 'The problem was with the message on the cake because, as a Christian, I do not support gay marriage.'

District judge Isobel Brownlie heard that nine members of the McArthur family work in the business, which makes and delivers cakes across the UK and Ireland.

Mrs McArthur and her husband Colin, who belong to Dunseverick Baptist Church, are the only shareholders with voting rights on how the company is run.

Under cross-examination from Robin Allen QC, Mrs McArthur told the court she had been a born-again Christian since the age of seven and 'sought to please God' in how she led her life.

She claimed she only took the order from Mr Lee in order to avoid a confrontation.

'I did not want to embarrass him or have a confrontation in the bakery,' Mrs McArthur told the court.

Public opinion on the landmark civil case has been split in Northern Ireland and beyond.

The Equality Commission, which monitors compliance with equality laws in the region, initially asked for the bakery to acknowledge it had breached legislation and offer 'modest' damages to the customer.

But when Ashers refused, the commission proceeded with the legal action.

Robin Allen QC, representing Mr Lee, said the baker's objection on religious grounds was unlawful.

He told the court that Mr Lee had used the bakery in Royal Avenue in Belfast city centre 'regularly' before the incident.

He said his client had seen a leaflet in the shop advertising a service where images could be printed in edible icing on a cake.

He said there was nothing on the leaflet which suggested a limitation on the service due to 'religious scruples'.

The barrister told the court that the order was accepted by Ashers director Mrs McArthur and Mr Lee paid for it in full.

Gareth Lee (pictured left) a volunteer member of the LGBT advocacy group Queer Space, claimed he was left feeling like a 'lesser person' when his pro-gay marriage cake (right) which had been paid for was turned down

'A contract was therefore concluded,' he said.

Mr Allen said that, over the next few days, Mrs McArthur expressed concern about the requested cake design with her daughter-in-law, Amy, and the matter was then discussed with her son, Daniel.

After that Mr Lee was informed that his order would not be processed due to the family's religious views, said the lawyer.

Mr Allen said if companies were allowed to break contracts with individuals then 'the law is worth nothing'.

He added: 'The rule of law says there shall be no discrimination in the commercial sphere.'

The barrister insisted that Ashers was not an 'explicitly religious' business and referred to an interview Daniel McArthur gave to a newspaper in which he claimed the majority of his workforce were unaware of his family's faith.

Mr Allen stressed the importance of anti-discrimination legislation in Northern Ireland, given its history of sectarian strife.

A lawyer for Ashers said the refusal had been down to the content of the cake and was not connected to any characteristic of the customer.

David Scoffield QC said: 'The defendants neither knew nor cared about Mr Lee's sexual orientation or his religious beliefs, if any, or his political opinions.

'The reason why the order was declined was because of the content and had nothing to do with a feature of the person making the order, or those with which he was associated.'

Describing the case as 'complicated', Mr Scoffield branded the legal action as a 'knee-jerk' reaction.

If a heterosexual person had requested the same cake bearing the same message they too would have been refused, the barrister said.

Mr Scoffield added: 'It was the content of the cake, not the characteristic of the customer or anyone associated with him.

'There was no discrimination in this case.'

Co-owner Colin McArthur was also called to give evidence.

Although he had not provided a witness statement for the proceedings, he described how he had agonised over the moral dilemma but a family decision was made to refuse to make the cake.

He said they talked about how they could 'stand before God' by making a cake promoting gay marriage.

Daniel McArthur, general manager of Ashers has accused the commission of pursuing his family because of their belief that marriage should only be between man and woman

Mr McArthur said: 'I spent a day or two thinking it over and wrestling with it in my own heart.

'As far as I can recollect, either on the Saturday or Sunday we were both of the same opinion that we could not proceed and make the cake.'

Meanwhile, Daniel McArthur, Ashers general manager, said the decision to decline the order had been made regardless of the legal consequences.

Even though he was unaware of the 'ins and outs' of equality legislation, Mr McArthur said he could not compromise his deeply held Christian beliefs opposing gay marriage.

He said: 'The reason for the decision was that, as Christians, we just did not feel that putting the message on a cake - gay marriage is clearly in contradiction of the Bible.

'We felt as Christians we could not put that message on a cake.'

He told the court: 'We knew the decision in our conscience as Christians was one that we had to make.

'That's why I said to mum regardless, as Christians we are bound by what we believe.

'This is what we are bound to do.'

The court was told Mr McArthur, the eldest of three boys, was appointed general manager at his parents' company two years ago.

He said the family had not taken legal advice but he had telephoned a church elder to 'ask his thoughts' on the matter.

'We were not doing it in defiance of the law,' added Mr McArthur. 'I think it is quite obvious that we do not know a lot of the ins and outs of the law.

'Our Christian faith is of utmost importance to us. It is how we run our lives; it is how we live our lives; it is how we bring up our families.

'Before God, this is something we couldn't make.'

Throughout the hearing Mrs McArthur clutched her husband's arm. The couple sat beside their son and his wife Amy in the main body of the court.

On the other side of the large dock, normally used to hold criminals facing trial, Mr Lee sat listening intently, supported by male and female friends.

The public gallery of courtroom number 12 in the large Laganside complex was almost packed to capacity with Christian campaigners as well as gay rights activists.

Mr McArthur the younger has previously accused the commission of pursuing his family because of their belief marriage should only be between man and woman.

Speaking ahead of the case, which began yesterday, Mr McArthur said he had been 'humbled' by the level of support from Christians worldwide and was putting his faith in God.

Ashers Bakery, which employs around 80 people, has been backed by the Christian Institute lobby group, which has arranged public meetings and garnered financial backing for the legal action.

Same-sex marriage remains a contentious issue in Northern Ireland and attempts to have it legalised have been repeatedly rejected by the devolved Assembly at Stormont.

The cake row has prompted a proposal to include a so-called 'conscience clause' in equality legislation.

The Democratic Unionist Party, whose MLA Paul Givan is bringing forward the Private Members' Bill, says businesses should have the right to refuse to provide services they believe could compromise their religious beliefs.

However, Sinn Fein has vowed to veto the move.