A baker's refusal to make a cake bearing a pro-gay marriage slogan is as unjustifiable as a postman declining to post a letter, a lawyer for the customer has told a court.
Northern Ireland's Equality Commission is supporting a legal action against family-run Ashers bakery on behalf of gay rights activist Gareth Lee, whose order was declined.
Belfast-based Ashers, which is owned by the McArthur family, refused to make a cake with an image of Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie below the motto "Support Gay Marriage".
Ashers considered the order but refused to bake the cake on the grounds that it went against their strongly-held Christian beliefs on marriage.
Opening the case, Robin Allen QC, representing Mr Lee, said the baker's objection on religious grounds was not lawful.
He said baking a cake did not mean the bakers supported any message the cake might carry.
The barrister highlighted that the proposed design would not have had an Ashers logo on it.
He then compared the baking of a cake to a postman delivering a letter or a printer printing a poster.
"A postman taking a letter to the door or a printer carrying out a printing job - nobody would say that involved promoting or support," he said.
"It's simply a functional relationship, a working relationship."
The lawyer also noted the publicity around the case and highlighted that politicians, church figures, bloggers and others had expressed opinions on the matter.
But the barrister insisted the case must be judged on the facts alone."Law must not be determined by those who shout loudest," he said.
"This is a case about commerce and discrimination," he said.
The case is being heard at Belfast County Court by district judge Isobel Brownlie.
The commission, which monitors compliance with equality laws in the region, has alleged that the stance of the company was in breach of legislation.
In the wake of the bakery's refusal to provide the service last May, the commission, a state-funded watchdog body, took on the case on behalf of Mr Lee.
Initially, the commission asked the bakery to acknowledge that it had breached legislation and offer "modest" damages to the customer.
When the Ashers refused, the commission proceeded with the legal action.
Arriving at court ahead of the hearing, Daniel McArthur, said he was putting his trust in God.
The hearing is expected to run for two days.
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