Peter and Hazelmary Bull, the hotel owners who refused civil partners Martyn Hall and Steven Preddy a room at their Chymorvah Private Hotel, were found guilty of being terrible hosts by a British court. (The Bulls maintained they refuse to let any unmarried couple share a double room; their civil partnership, evidently, didn’t count. They also insisted they were set up.) The hotel owning pair claimed last month that if they lost in court they would have to shut down their hotel. Well, start boarding it up, bubba! Or not: While Hall and Preddy were seeking £5,000 in damages for the Bulls’ violation of the Equality Act, a judge awarded them £1,800, or about $2,880. (UPDATE: Sorry, that’s £1,800 each.) So what does the ruling mean? That the Bulls will no longer be able to enforce their policy discriminating against gays and the unmarried. So how many nights can one couple stay for £1,800?
lawsuits
Gay Couple Win $6K From Hotel Owners Who Didn’t Want To Hear Their Headboard Banging
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Cam
Even if they WERE only discriminating against them because they were “Unmarried” according to British law the civil partnership is supposed to be exactly equal under the law with only a different name, so that defense of theirs is B.S..
robert in NYC
This sends a clear message to religious bigots. If they use their beluef system to discriminate while running a “public” business that is licensed by the state, then nobody can discriminate. Had this been a private house, then the situation would be different. That’s what the bigot couple didn’t understand. They have a choice, either stay in business and abide by the law or shut down.
Me
@Robert aren’t you being a bigot against Religious people? Also if following the law is so important, then why did gays defy DADT when it was law? Personally I think this will be a catalyst for people who are tired of the gay agenda. I think the old people should have just lied and said they had no rooms, but hopefully they will win on appeal. Those gay people should be ashamed of themselves for picking on old people. I hope they are proud of themselves.
Jeffree
@Me: Nice try, but logical fail. By opening up a hotel the elderly people were required to follow UK anti-discrimination rules. If they didn’t agree with those laws, than another type of business would have kept them out the difficulties they’re in. If they had discriminated against a Jewish or Hindu couple, would you be so quick to judge?
If they had refused lodging to two str8 Eastern European men who were willing to save on costs by sharing a bed (not that uncommon based on my travels), would that still be justified in your mind?
robert in nyc
No. 3…you just don’t get it. These people, religious or not, violated the law of the UK by deliberately using their religious beliefs to justify discrimination. Their home was licensed by the state to operate as a public (not private) service and as such are subject to the law of the land when it comes to discrimination in the delivery of goods and services, illegal in the UK. It would apply even if they weren’t religious. No, I’m not being a bigot and now you’re trying to use a double standard saying that these people should have lied? Isn’t that the very antithesis of being a so called “christian”? What about the commandment, “thou shalt not lie”?
Another thing, we have NO agenda, that’s a fabrication of the right wing and religious extremists in this country. They are the ones who have an agenda and who campaign against full equality for LGBT people and as an apologist for them, you become complicit.
tallskin2
@Me, “Those gay people should be ashamed of themselves for picking on old people. I hope they are proud of themselves.”
are you the same sad boring, cardigan wearing wanker who’s been posting the same message on all the bigoted opinion pieces in the UK???
(can’t you think for yourself and come up with a more original phrase than the conspiratorial “gay agenda”??)
and what exactly is this gay agenda that you’re referring to? Is the ‘gay agenda’ that says it’s payback time for 2,000 years of christian bigotry?
Sure, if it’s that agenda then I wholeheartedly support it.
As far as gay people are concerned it’s been 2,000 years of hell and now it’s come to an end you’re really enraged cos no-one is listening to you anymore!
Besides which those nasty old homophobic B&B christian bigots are liars, they were quite happy for unmarried heterosexuals to stay at their B&B, it seems.
http://www.secularism.org.uk/christian-hotel-owners-claimed-i.html
Francis
@Me: They aren’t going to win on appeal, their business will be damaged and has been already and likely will close, and guess what, no-one cares what you’re tired of. This is not about picking on old people, this is about standing up for ones’ self and demanding required equal treatment, and when that is violated, making sure there is consequences. Sorry, but we aren’t your patsies anymore, you aren’t going to walk on LGBT folk these days without hell to pay. So yes, personally, I’m very happy for these two men that they rightfully won in court. Expect this to continue as long as individuals such as yourself continue with your discriminatory actions.