A member of the Northern Ireland Assembly has unveiled a ‘conscience clause’ Bill after a Christian bakery was sanctioned for refusing an order for a cake supporting same-sex marriage.

Democratic Unionist MLA Paul Givan is seeking support for an amendment to current equality legislation to take account of ‘deeply held religious beliefs’ after the bakery, Ashers of Newtownabbey, fell foul of existing laws in refusing to complete an order which was to depict the Sesame Street characters Ernie and Bert under the message ‘Support Gay Marriage’ and the logo for LGBT lobby group Queerspace. Despite Ashers arguing its position on religious grounds, the Equality Commission took the case and warned of legal action against the bakery for its stance.

Now, Mr Givan argues, Northern Ireland must face up to the issues raised by the case and ensure freedom of conscience for those with deeply held religious beliefs.

“The challenge is now with politicians and society to respond and ask the question what type of society do we want, one that can make space for difference or one that is intolerant, denying our faith communities the right to live according to their sincerely held religious beliefs in our community?”

When media attention first focused on Ashers in July of this year, the bakery’s general manager, Daniel McArthur explained: “We are Christians and our Christianity reaches to every point of our lives, whether that’s at home or in the day-to-day running of the business. We thought that this order was at odds with our beliefs, certainly was in contradiction with what the Bible teaches.”

In a letter to The Belfast Telegraph this week, DUP member, and Mayor of North Down, Peter Martin, expressed his own support for Ashers and charged that people of religion were the losers in the face of current laws.

“I believe in civil and religious liberty, and that this case is a symptom of the statute books’ current inflexibility to provide for people of faith – whether Christian, or other – to exercise their conscience in line with their religious beliefs,” he wrote. “Just as the Equality Commission deemed it necessary to take this case, I believe public opinion now needs to be tested in relation to a ‘freedom of conscience’ clause currently being introduced as a Private Member’s Bill by Paul Givan MLA. I wonder where Ashers Bakery’s ‘freedom of conscience’ has disappeared to.”