Something quite surprising has happened to Christian bakers in Northern Ireland who were found guilty of discrimination for declining to make a cake that included the message “support gay marriage” on it: The bakery’s profits have increased.According to the Belfast Telegraph, Ashers Bakery posted profits of £1.5 million in 2016 compared to £1.3 million in 2015, equivalent to a rise from to $1.41 million to $1.63 million. This means that the controversy over the cake refusal —
one that was told by media outlets across the globe — didn’t have much of an impact on the bakery’s bottom line. As Faithwire previously reported, the McArthur family, who own the company, landed in the crosshairs after declining to make the cake in 2014 for an LGBTQ activist named Gareth Lee. In addition to including the “support gay marriage” message, Lee reportedly also wanted the cake to have a logo for his organization QueerSpace and an image of Sesame Street’s Bert and Ernie hugging. FULL REPORT
