gay couple awarded compensation

[Jody R]

I think they should have the compensation.

The couple running the B&B are running a hotel and in this day and age they should expect unmarried couples or same sex couples to want to stay together in the same room. They are not parents trying to exert their own house rules over a teenager with a new girl/boyfriend, they are business people and business people can't discriminate even if they are running that business from the home they live in.

This gay couple, in a civil partnership (exactly the same as a marriage in my eyes), had every right to book a room together without being asked to leave or stay in seperate ones.

I'm not sure what happened with this couple but I assume they travelled to that hotel and then either had to find alternative accommodation that didn't have prejudices against them or travel home again. Plus they had checked in advance about the rules regarding pets and brought their dog with them so they probably would have had to pay more and/or have the inconvenience of finding somewhere else to stay that allowed pets.

They should be compensated for the trouble, expense, upset and embarrassment they suffered and for the weekend being undoubtedly spoilt by the prejudices of this couple running the B&B.

 

[PeanutBean]

Totally agree they deserve the compensation and with everything everyone's said about discrimination. Nibblenic when it broke the news my first thought was to they turn away heterosexual couples who married with a civil ceremony. I'll bet £1million they would never ask. It's black and white discrimination against homosexuality.

 

[Jody R]

Totally agree they deserve the compensation and with everything everyone's said about discrimination. Nibblenic when it broke the news my first thought was to they turn away heterosexual couples who married with a civil ceremony. I'll bet £1million they would never ask. It's black and white discrimination against homosexuality.

That's a good point and it would apply to us! Our wedding was a civil ceremony held in a hotel and I'd be furious if someone turned us away on those grounds.

When you turn your home into a hotel or a B&B that takes in paying clients I think you lose the right to pick and choose who gets to stay in it. If you don't like the loss of control then you shouldn't go into the business.

 

[PeanutBean]

Yes we had a civil ceremony too. Can you imagine being asked such a question when booking in somewhere?! If you work in the tourism sector you have to be open about your clients whatever your personal feelings. Get with the times!

 

[Ilovehim89]

My general oppinion is if you are going to open your house up to the public in that way and make a business out of it then you cant realy bring personal oppinions or religious beliefs into it.

ITA with this!

 

[mummy3]

I'd say they deserve the compensation, but I don't think the elderly couple should have to apologise for having their personal beliefs. They need to run a business to fit within the law and they didn't but we don't know if they knew if they weren't allowed to impose their ideals on their guests.

The boundaries were probably blurred as this is also their home, a crash course in what is allowed in having a guesthouse and then some further thought as to whether this is the pension-topper they want is in order!

 

[PeanutBean]

Tbh I don't think ignorance of the law is sufficient excuse. When you start a business you are obliged to look into what you are doing and ensure you are doing it safely and legally. I don't think there'd be sympathy if for example they employed someone without crb checking who would be in regular and frequent contact with children staying there for a couple of weeks and then something untoward happened. As a business owner and perhaps employee you have obligations.

 

[Jody R]

Tbh I don't think ignorance of the law is sufficient excuse. When you start a business you are obliged to look into what you are doing and ensure you are doing it safely and legally. I don't think there'd be sympathy if for example they employed someone without crb checking who would be in regular and frequent contact with children staying there for a couple of weeks and then something untoward happened. As a business owner and perhaps employee you have obligations.

I agree and I don't think ignorance of the law is actually allowed as a defence in court is it? Otherwise everyone would be using it to get out of anything ("I didn't know I wasn't allowed to just not pay my tax" or whatever).

It's still this bit that is bothering me: But Mrs Bull, 66 - whose husband, 70, is in hospital awaiting a heart bypass - claimed the decision showed Christianity was becoming "marginalised" in Britain.

She said: "Chymorvah's not just a lovely hotel, it's our home. We don't expect everyone to agree with our beliefs but we want them to live in accordance with our values under our own roof. The decision affects our religious liberty."

At the very least the owners of that hotel should be marketing it as a place where they expect their guests to comply with their beliefs and advertising it as a Christian guesthouse.

The fact that they didn't (and I'm assuming they didn't because I can't imagine the couple who were discriminated against would book to stay there if it had been advertised in such a way) and the fact that when they took the booking the owners didn't mention their policy on same sex or unmarried couples to them makes me think that they knew they could be liable under some sort of discrimination law if they did make their feelings clear beforehand.

 

[freckleonear]

They did make their policy clear. This is the special note on their booking page:

Here at Chymorvah we have few rules, but please note that as Christians we have a deep regard for marriage(being the union of one man to one woman for life to the exclusion of all others).

Therefore, although we extend to all a warm welcome to our home, our double bedded accommodation is not available to unmarried couples. Thank you.

Regarding the points about civil ceremonies/church weddings, it makes absolutely no difference because it is still marriage. As in the quote above, the Christian definition of marriage is one man and one woman for life, so to them civil partnerships can't be considered marriage.

 

[lesleyann]

They did make their policy clear. This is the special note on their booking page:

Here at Chymorvah we have few rules, but please note that as Christians we have a deep regard for marriage(being the union of one man to one woman for life to the exclusion of all others).

Therefore, although we extend to all a warm welcome to our home, our double bedded accommodation is not available to unmarried couples. Thank you.

Regarding the points about civil ceremonies/church weddings, it makes absolutely no difference because it is still marriage. As in the quote above, the Christian definition of marriage is one man and one woman for life, so to them civil partnerships can't be considered marriage.

from reading that then it looks like someone just got angry for not reading it all. TBH i dont think the deserved Compo if they had read the site properly they would of none they needed single rooms or to just book another hotel. The muslim kebab shop near us subsitues HAM with TURKEY does that mean i should sue them just because i want ham instead of turkey even though it clearly says when im ordering it?

 

[Jody R]

They did make their policy clear. This is the special note on their booking page:

Here at Chymorvah we have few rules, but please note that as Christians we have a deep regard for marriage(being the union of one man to one woman for life to the exclusion of all others).

Therefore, although we extend to all a warm welcome to our home, our double bedded accommodation is not available to unmarried couples. Thank you.

Regarding the points about civil ceremonies/church weddings, it makes absolutely no difference because it is still marriage. As in the quote above, the Christian definition of marriage is one man and one woman for life, so to them civil partnerships can't be considered marriage.

from reading that then it looks like someone just got angry for not reading it all. TBH i dont think the deserved Compo if they had read the site properly they would of none they needed single rooms or to just book another hotel. The muslim kebab shop near us subsitues HAM with TURKEY does that mean i should sue them just because i want ham instead of turkey even though it clearly says when im ordering it?

But they are married in the eyes of the law. So it's still the personal feelings of the people running the hotel, which as they have found out, they can't enforce in this way.

 

[PeanutBean]

The news reports said they had a marriage policy for bookings listed on their website. I don't think we know that what it says now is what it said then, with regards to the man and woman bit. That could easily have been put on in response to the case.