Christian Post

A Christian Bed and Breakfast owner in the United Kingdom lost her appeal Tuesday against a ruling that she discriminated against a gay couple by refusing to give them a double room in 2010. Her case joins that of another Christian couple who also denied a double room to a gay couple in their guesthouse in 2008. Both cases will be heard by the U.K. Supreme Court on October 9.

Owner Susanne Wilkinson turned away Michael Black, 64, and John Morgan, 59, from her Swiss Bed and Breakfast in Cookham, Berkshire, in March 2010. “The staunchly religious mother-of-four believes that sex before marriage is a sin and ‘against God’s law’,” the Telegraph reported.

Last year, a judge at Reading County Court found Wilkinson guilty of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and “awarded them damages of £1,800 each,” which equates to $5,340.96.

Wilkinson “says she will have to shut her business if forced to allow unmarried couples to sleep in the same bed and insists she is in no way anti-gay and that her ‘old fashioned’ beliefs have not been afforded the respect they deserve.” Since gays cannot marry in the United Kingdom, the judge disagreed.

He characterized her B&B as “essentially a commercial rather than a religious enterprise.” Black and Morgan, though not civil partners, enjoy the support of the civil rights campaign group Liberty. The Telegraph quoted James Welch, the group’s legal director, as saying, “Hopefully today’s ruling will mark the end of out-of-date ‘no gays’ policies which are as intolerable as those referring to a person’s race, gender or religion.”

In turn, the Christian Institute, a national charity defending the civil liberty of Christians, supports Wilkinson. “Balance is the key word. There should be more even-handedness for Christians who hold traditional views about marriage,” said spokesman Mike Judge.

Categories: news

Tags: forcing businesses to serve homsexuals, homosexual agenda