David Quinn appeared on Morning Ireland, debating Colm O’Gorman of Amnesty International about the introduction of a “conscience clause” protecting the freedom of conscience rights of bakers, printers, and other citizens who don’t support same-sex marriage, in the event that the referendum was passed.
Listen to the item here [1].
It’s an important and relevent debate to have, as the Asher’s Bakery case in Northern Ireland is currently ongoing. In that case, a small family-run bakery was asked to bake a cake bearing the slogan “Support Gay Marriage” and then taken to court by Northern Ireland’s equality commission when they refused.
A public meeting held in support of the bakery drew thousands of people – the Belfast Telegraph reported on it here [2].
Ultimately, the question of freedom of conscience gives the lie to the idea that same-sex marriage won’t effect anyone else: the truth is that without a conscience clause, anyone who won’t publically affirm same-sex marriage through their businesses risks being made a criminal.