You are either being ridiculous, or deliberately perverse. She can stand silently anywhere you mention. Most others could
stand where she did and receive nothing more than a quiet word.

It was who she was and where she stood that was the issue. Not the silence.

Having previous automatically means you draw attention to yourself. If you are let out of prison on licence and you step out of line you do back in again. It has nothing to do with what anyone is thinking. You and I could be there, think all sorts of devious thoughts and nothing would happen. It's her and her previous that created the problem and not totalitarianism of any kind.

My position on the cake bakers is, and always has been, that whilst their convictions by the lower courts was overturned by the SC on a point of law that, in my opinion that wasn't just so the law needs revision and what they did ought to be illegal. Not that it was. No "memory loss" on my behalf. Maybe on yours, or possibly some misunderstanding.

I am sure the Ashers won't miss me, but I do wonder what impact this all had on their business. No doubt there will be some who approve of their clearance, whilst others feel there has been an injustice. This though is a much bigger principle than just the Ashers and a cake. There was another case down here of a guest house owner who refused a room to a gay couple, was prosecuted, lost the case and had to close the business because they refused to change their stance. Not identical, of course, but separating personal opinions from business actions, are also involved. They claimed it was their home and they could decide whatever they liked. They lost because they offered rooms at a price, so were a business.

I don't think you are stupid, so you must understand that us having a reputation for trustworthiness improves many things. Our trade, our tourism and the welcome we get when on holiday. It also means we get listened to when major international decisions are taken. The biggest benefit though is that the BBC gets watched and so we get noticed. Get noticed, be admired and people want want we have and what we do.

If they invite to bake cakes to order, yes. What goes on the cake has nothing to do with them. If they are asked to do something illegal then they should report it. If not they do it. They have no need to display it, endorse it or even read it. For them it's just flour, water, fat and sugar.

What if Gary Glitter struts into the bakery and asks for a cake with "reduce the age of consent to 10" to be iced on it?

Edited by georgenorman (14 Mar 2023 10.18pm)

They should report it to the Police as he would obviously have escaped from prison.

Yes they should, or withdraw from offering to make cakes for others.

This is one of the primary reasons the law needs to change. To make sure all communities understand that they must keep their private beliefs private. It's really important going forward.

Do you honestly think that's going to happen? Not what you think should, will happen.