When your belief in marriage results in job loss & court (UK)

The Coalition for Marriage in their latest newsletter have highlighted a number of cases where people who disagree with same-sex marriage have been punished in their careers and occupations, despite recent legal victories, and despite assurances that this would not happen (similar to misleading assurances in New Zealand!)

In 2006 Archbishop Mario Conti, then Roman Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow, was reported to the police by an MSP because he spoke up for traditional marriage in a sermon.

Sarah Mbyui, a nursery worker, lost her job in 2014 because she gave the ‘wrong’ answer to a question from a colleague about whether she believed in same-sex marriage. Sarah won her case in an employment tribunal.

Felix Ngole was removed from his university social work course in 2016 after he made comments on his personal Facebook page in support of traditional marriage. He won in the Court of Appeal.

Housing manager Adrian Smith was demoted and had his pay cut by 40 per cent in 2011 because he said on his Facebook page that gay weddings in Churches were “an equality too far”. He won in the High Court.

The McArthur family, who own and run Ashers bakery, were pursued through the courts by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland for alleged breach of anti-discrimination law in 2014 after they refused to bake a cake celebrating a same-sex marriage campaign. They won in the Supreme Court.