Gay couple turned away from B&B by Christian owners

You're not any more advanced than the inn keeper!

NICE!!!!!!!

Stop using your half backed mythology as an excuse for HATE .

Voted up and Recommended by KSirys!!

"Jesus hated the sin that is why he destroyed sodom and gomorrah"

If your going to be a homophobic Christian at least know your Bible. You humiliate yourself with your ignorance. Jesus is New Testament, sodom and gomorrah is Old Testament.

Clearly you know nothing about the Bible or Jesus, apparently you are just looking for an excuse to hate.

You bring shame to yourself and your religion with your ignorance and hatred. And you have my sympathy. There is nothing righteous about an illiterate bumbkin thumping a Bible that she has not read nor understood.

Jesus Christ is nothing more than toilet paper!

I know lots of gay men , and I don't think of that . It may have triggered some gayness in himself ....

It isn't happening fast enough!

wrong,

it is not their right to deny service and discriminate

Thanks, its refreshing to have someone say it's their right to say "no thanks." I'm sure there are plenty of same sex or more liberal BnBs that would be happy to have them. After all this is America, we (still) have some options and a right to disagree.

wrong,

if i owned a business i would want the right to discriminate, so i could deny service to homophobes

I believe the law is fairly clear that you can not discriminate against homos or homophobes if you are a business and open to the public.

then the law should be thrown out

"Without laws or compulsion, men would dwell in harmony." - Lao Tzu

I admire your optimism when it comes to human nature.

I am afraid though that many would discriminate and abuse minorities, be they sexual, religious or ethnic, if given the chance.

Live long and prosper

no one can legislate in kindness as they could legislate out hatred, government can't work like that

i'd rather know the business to be homophobic so i could save my money for a company i can trust, would you be fine with your money going to a company that was homophobic but you didn't know because the law keeps it a secret?

life is about choice,and i'd rather make mine then have someone do that for me

"No one can guarantee
the actions of another."
(Day of the Dove) - Star Trek

yes, it is their right to refuse service.

wrong

you do not have the right to discriminate, regardless of religion. Would you say it would be OK to deny an African American couple lodging?

I feel like you are wrong. Yeah, as americans they have a right to refuse service, but keep in mind this is america. Land of the free, not land of the christians.

Yeh! Christians don't condone homosexuality. You just now found that out?

If I own a public business in the UK, I cannot refuse business to someone based on their sexual orientation. That is called discrimination. The right to refuse service isn't the same as discrimination. Someone comes in without a shirt or shoes that is unsanitary, indecent, and could create a disturbance to other customers-- entirely different situation here.

You saw the post below linking to the wiki page for the law. The couple was discriminated against and inconvenienced illegally.

Take this law further then. Imagine you aren't served because you're white/black, stupid/smart, disabled, Christian/Muslim/Jewish/etc, and see how you feel. Then imagine if every place was able to do this to you and no one would serve you.

What if grocery stores did this, would you just starve?

And BTW, if I was harsh to GNL, it was because he is about as ignorant as they come and deserves no respect.

those are based on who you are, not your sexual behavior.

Ok, from the original text of the bill

2)In this Part “group” means a group or class of persons who share a common attribute in respect of any of the following matters—
(a)age,
(b)disability,
(c)gender,
(d)proposed, commenced or completed reassignment of gender (within the meaning given by section 82(1) of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (c. 65)),
(e)race,
(f)religion or belief, and
(g)sexual orientation.

....

33 Equality and human rights enactments
(1)In this Part “the equality enactments” means—
(a)the Equal Pay Act 1970 (c. 41),
(b)the Sex Discrimination Act 1975,
(c)the Race Relations Act 1976,
(d)the Disability Discrimination Act 1995,
(e)Part 2 of this Act,
(f)regulations under Part 3 of this Act,
(g)the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/1661), and
(h)the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/1660).

...

34 Unlawful
(1)In this Part (except section 30(3)) “unlawful” means contrary to a provision of the equality enactments. [listed above]

Okay ready for this guys? Here is the meat. Paraphrased because of length..

46 Goods, facilities and services
(1)It is unlawful for a person ( “A”) concerned with the provision to the public or a section of the public of goods, facilities or services to discriminate against a person ( “B”) who seeks to obtain or use those goods, facilities or services—
(a)
by refusing to provide B with goods, facilities or services,
....
2)Subsection (1) applies, in particular, to—
(a)access to and use of a place which the public are permitted to enter,
(b)accommodation in a hotel, boarding house or similar establishment,

Mind you that this is in the UK. The bill's text can be reached here. http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?activeTextDocId=2320547

So, my post clearly shows:
- (section 2) what groups are protected
-the laws passed to protect them
-that unlawful discrimination would mean acting to the contrary of said laws.
-and then section 46 clearly states that you cannot deny housing, hotel, or similar establishments to the public based on the criteria in section two.

I am no lawyer (maybe cztheday could intervene?) but this seems pretty clear cut to me. IT IS DISCRIMINATION AND ILLEGAL TO DENY THEM HOUSING BASED ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION.

If it were just their house, they'd be able to let in whoever they want.
But they're also running a business, and it's illegal for businesses to discriminate based on sexual orientation.

So by your "logic", if an Islamic family stayed the night and the father caught the daughter having sex or kissing, they should say nothing when he buries her up to her neck and STONES her to death? I have another question, by your logic, should the BnB couple help the father dig the hole?

So what now every landlord in the UK and here in America should become peeping Toms?
It would be more logical for them to charge extra and/or video tape it and then reduce the rent by the amount of money they make off internet sales.

Perfect response, I don't know how to follow up any better.

Article mentioned the Equality Act 2006 for the UK. Quote from its wiki page for brief detail

"outlawing of discrimination on goods and services on the grounds of religion and belief (subject to certain exemptions) and allows the Government to introduce regulations outlawing discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation in goods and services in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the Sexual Orientation Regulations 2006) and a provision relating to the creation of a public duty to promote equality on the ground of gender."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equality_Act_2006

Ah, okay...

My advice to the couple... sue sue sue!

EUgh, sue really?

They called the police, isn't that enough? I mean, they gave them their money back and even apologized, this couple wasn't even out any money or anything! An inconvenience, and hurt feelings at the most.
If its against the law, you have every right to press charges i guess, but there's a difference between standing up for your rights and being a pest.

So then what is right then? Is it right to stand up for your 'rights' or beliefs as a Christian and be allowed to discriminate? Is it right to stand up for your rights as an individual homosexual and not be discriminated against?

And how are you calling anyone a PEST in this matter?

Intolerant people like that give Christianity a bad name. Ridiculous actions like that have consequences.
I can see what you mean about suing being overkill; I guess it would depend on how the owners conducted themselves.

idoits that think that pedophilia is an art SCARES ME..

tehehe, You just proved my point silly!

so if you are gay and up operate a bed and breakfast and you see a christian couple..you have the right to shooo them away..

(IF THE DO COME AND PRESIST)

I didn't mention anything about rights. I think that if a person has a business they ought to serve who they choose, without the government stepping in. That being said, normally it is in the best interest of a business not to discriminate because they will loose money. On the other hand, if I owned an inn called Beezlebub's Bed and Breakfast it might be in my best interest not to serve Christians because it might deflect my core customers.

Reminds me of Ozzie Osborn kicking a bunch of pagans out of the hotel he was staying at in the wee hours of the morning because their chanting kept him awake. He went out into the lobby, sat in the middle of their circle and sang 'Happy Birthday' at the top of his lungs and told them to get the **** out of the building they were disturbing his sleep.

some establisments can refuse service to anyone they deem unfit..hence "no shirt no service" signs you see on most places

It is true, just like I think: if I owned a restaurant I should be allowed to let customers in my building have a smoke after dinner!
We had a gay couple that rented an apt. from us. Both had AIDS. I am happy to say they were very dear to me and I was glad to have been there for them in their time of need because their families had turned their backs on them. One was a veteran so they were able to get a plot in a nearby cemetery and were both interred there. And I know God loved both of them.

Well put sir.

...but, as the article made clear, you cannot discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. it was right there for you, did you skip over that part or are you barely literate?

It depends on the size of your establishment and also, the location. Local laws may be different for small B&B's with minimum rooms.

meh, i disagree.

I think your business and your work is sort of an extension of yourself. I think a person should have to right to decide if they don't want to serve somebody.

whoa harsh.

i don't think its illegal in the U.S. to refuse service based on sexual orientation. Misunderstanding i guess.

that is the way it should be, but most progressives are all about the government getting into peoples business.

and i am sure you are very versed on ignorance, bigotry and hatred....you rival the christians on that one

Voted up!

"She apologised for turning them away and she returned their deposit and was in no way abusive," the couple said.
What type of hate are you talking about? Did you even read the article???

Simply because they were polite and civil in expressing their hatred does not change that hatred. Discrimination with a smile is still discrimination.

Can you not see that the denial of service is an act of hatred? It is an act of prejudice and bigotry that is most foul.

You might want to reexamine your moral compass Josh. If you don't see the hate you are experiencing a major malfunction.

"she's" green with envy.............What funny is her description of herself.... LIBERAL, PROGRESSIVE, FAIR: -- FAIR being the operative word......Fair isn't in the liberal dictionary.......

hahaha words cannot describe...

i dont think an openly xtian couple would go and persist to stay in an openly gay establisment..

just an observation

ahahahahahaha

define judgment.

You wouldn't have hear CRAP about it.......

Some would, some won't ...... I'm not sure I'd have a problem w. it....