Actually I am not too sure as to whether this lady in question was within her rights to refuse accommodation to a gay couple – discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation is illegal under British and European Law. And discriminate she most certainly did. Let’s recap…
Micheal Black 62 and John Morgan 56, booked a double room for a night at a B&B owned by Susanne Wilkinson in the sleepy village of Cookham, Berkshire. Mr Black and Mr Morgan are a couple and had a confirmed booking at The Swiss Bed and Breakfast. The reason why I highlight ‘confirmed booking’ is because, as having worked in this industry ourselves until recently, I know that a confirmed booking with an accommodation provider is in effect a contract between the owner and the guest, and a binding one at that.
When Mr Morgan and Mr Black arrived at the B&B Mrs Wilkinson, a christian, informed them she would not be allowing them to stay as their lifestyle offended her religious beliefs. In short, she did not want two men sharing a bed in her home. Now fair enough – you and I can refuse anyone entry to our own homes, but this lady is using her home as a registered business and whether she agrees with their lifestyle or not it is illegal to discriminate against people on the grounds of sexual orientation. To refuse goods and services to a customer – these men had a paid reservation – on the basis they are gay is against the law! If Mrs Wilkinson disagrees with homosexuality in general then maybe she is in the wrong industry as gay people travel as much as anyone else; would she turn away a Muslim couple…? or a black couple…? Of course she is entitled to her beliefs – as narrow and ignorant as they may be – but as a business owner she cannot use those beliefs to actively discriminate against a section of the population and still act within the law – that’s just the way it is no matter which way you look at it. We spent six years running a hotel and I can tell you that some of our best guests were gay couples; they were always polite and friendly and always, always left their rooms clean and tidy. I only wish I could say the same for many of our ‘straight’ guests…
The home page of Mrs Wilkinson’s website goes like this:
“A warm and friendly welcome awaits all guests at Susanne Wilkinson’s Swiss Bed and Breakfast…” - well, so long as you are not homosexual – she might want to change the wording there…
But like I said, this lady can hold whatever beliefs she likes – but I always find it interesting how those beliefs so often make these ‘christians’ so intolerant of other people.
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I wonder if Jesus Christ would have done the same thing in their shoes. As a committed Christian and very familiar with the Bible and Jesus’s teachings, I don’t see anything in the Gospels to suggest He would. The Bible also teaches that “God is love” and that we should not judge or cast the first stone.
I think this is more a case of sticking up for one’s own private prejudices and bigotry rather than sticking up for Jesus.
Well, ‘God’ made them that way so who are we to judge them…?
And I wonder if she has any idea what some straight couples get up to in her guest rooms…
This woman is a hypocrite – Jesus is supposed to love ALL his children. As a parent I would never turn away one of my children so why would Jesus do this to one of us? the answer is He would not, so where does this bitch get off turning fellow human beings away from her door when she operates and promotes herself as a business owner and a host?
These men had a legitimate booking and she states nowhere on her site that she does not accept gay people, she is not allowed to for one thing and if she is so devoted to her beliefs then she should take the risk, state clearly she does not accept gays and then deal with any consequences that come along if she feels so strongly about this.
These self-righteous morons claim to act on behalf of Jesus when Jesus would in fact be embarrassed by them and their actions. He never turned anyone away, lepers, the poor, the sick, the blind, nobody. This woman has a filthy mind, just what does she think those two men will get up to anyway in her house? her mind is worse than anything she imagines those two men will do. People like her have dirty minds, they think about sex more than anyone and yet make out they are clean living. She is a filthy bitch herself.
Well, this lady needs to decide what she wants to be – a business owner or a home owner, as a business owner you are subject to the same laws as everyone else – fact.
She is in the wrong trade if you ask me.
These men are people like anyone else – this is 2010 for gods sake. I don’t care what people do in their beds so long as they don’t make a mess
Isn’t it strange what impassioned views are brought forth when such an subject is raised.
As a christian myself, and one who has considered the B&B industry as a living, this has been an issue my wife and myself have struggled with. Do we conform to the world and its views, or do we stand up for what we believe? Exactly what is it we do believe and what is it that Christ teaches us to believe? If we exclude homosexual couples, do we then veto unmarried couples and, if so, where does it all end – by excluding anyone who, in our view, is an “unrepentant sinner”? This, i believe, is a route to hipocracy and bigotry and not one I would wish to embark upon, not to mention the empty rooms we would undoubtedly be staring at every day!
It is true that Jesus died once, for ALL. However, although, as David M states, Jesus never turned any away during his ministry, the bible is clear that this will not be the case come the last days (Matt. 7: 21-23 & Matt 22: 1-14), but it is also clear that it is Christ, and he alone, who will be the judge in this situation.
As for this woman being a “self-righteous moron” and a “filthy minded bitch”. Perhaps, I address a previous commentator here, she is just another person who has made an error in judgement that she now finds it difficult to go back on. Or perhaps she has been subject to misguided biblical teaching or interpretation. Whatever the reason, to vilify her, in the way that this previous commentator has, is both unreasonable and narrow minded in itself. Indeed, unless the commentator themself were a pillar of light, virtue and faultlessness, they could be construed as – what was the word used right at the beginning of said comment – ah yes, a hypocrite.
On balance, having considered this matter for some time, I believe that this lady was misguided, but not in a negative, finger-pointing, “narrow-minded” way. No, I simply hold a different understanding of Christ’s message of love. I believe Christ’s message to be an inclusive one, one that teaches us to “love the sinner, but hate the sin”. If we cannot do that, then how can we even demonstrate love towards ourselves and those around us? Let us remember what the bible calls the second greatest commandment – “Love your neighbour as yourself” – the words of Jesus Christ (Matt. 22: 39)
People have a right to believe whatever they like – the issue here is that this couple are using their home as a business, a registered business, and thus are subject to the same anti-discrimination laws as a person who runs a hairdressing salon, a general store or a fruit shop. They would have to conform to fire safety regulations by having extinguishers and emergency escape instructions – there would be the legal requirement to display their tariffs in each guest room, they will be conforming to health regulations by having a food hygiene certificate as she is cooking breakfasts for the public…so where do they get off assuming that they are not subject to laws regarding equality…?
If you want to be in the hospitality industry and make a quid you cannot go picking and choosing your guests unless your business is booming; when they are paying guests they are buying a service and you do not have the right to tell them they cannot share a room due to your beliefs. They are not house guests – they are customers. You can retain the right to refuse a service in some circumstances but to declare you are doing this on the grounds of a guests sexuality is asking for trouble! this woman is a victim of her own ignorance I’m afraid.
Wendy
I have been considering your response for some time and it seems that your line of thinking is that if a law conflicts with someone’s deep felt belief, then one should out aside their belief and uphold the law. This being the case, let me put this question to you: If this country were to introduce a law which made it legal to have sex with a child, would you simply adhere to it, because it is law, or would you stand against it on the basis that we must, at all cost, protect the innocence of our children?
We are talking about adults here not children and if such a law was presented as you have suggested as an example then no, I would not adhere to the law under any circumstance but only because it involved a child and is inherently wrong, no bible needs to tell you that. These are adults we are speaking about, not children which is a far more emotive issue than two gay adult males. Anti-discrimination laws were put in place to ensure that all people were treated fairly, I cannot see how you can compare a law making paedophilia legal with one that outlaws unfair treatment. I All I am saying is that this woman was silly that in this day and age, with all the anti-discrimination laws in place, she is so naive as a business owner to tell these guys she basically does not like homosexuals – and she is a business owner as she is charging money for her rooms. She also DOES reserve the right to refuse goods and services but she went about it the wrong way – she knows darn well it is illegal to put a sign up saying ‘no gays here’ so I just questioned where her head is at. Maybe it should be allowed – sure enough plenty of B&B’s can legally state they do not accept children in their establishments and nobody complains about that.
We advertised our hotel on gay travel websites as well as mainstream travel websites and attracted a lot of gay couples to our establishment and frankly I was too busy in my work to bother my mind with what they could be getting up to in the privacy of their room – for a christian woman I’d say her mind is geared towards very un-christian thoughts…
On the other side of the coin, I would ask those two guys why they would even want to stay in an establishment that was obviously anti-gay.
I apologise for not bringing the bible into it – I happen to think the bible is all hogwash.
The ignorance and unmitigated gaul of some people. Who does this hypocritical christian thinks she is? Firstly, she engaged in false advertising, secondly, she broke what is considered a contract with the gay couple, and thirdly, she broke the law! She cannot legally transfer her personal beliefs into the business arena if they conflict with the law. She ought to get out of the business and keep her bigotry to herself before she really lands in hot water.
I agree Aaron. Either she is a business woman or she is not – once you throw open your doors to the public and charge them money they have consumer rights and this applies whether you conduct your business on an office or in your own home. She knows she could never advertise on her website that gay guests may not share a bed – so her behaviour in this instance is truly ridiculous.
I agree she is a silly old bag and almost certainly full of hypocritical views, but resorting to the “she broke the law” argument is facile.
The question is whether the law is bad: because it does not reflect what most people think is reasonable and/or it lacks clarity and thus may be selectively enforced depending on the personal views of the police or CPS.
There used to be a law against homosexuality. People ignored it because it was a stupid and unreasonable invasion of the private domain.
The crux of this case is that there is an overlap between the public & private domains and legislation needs to cater for such cases without restricting private trade to an all or nothing outcome.
As usual, a few militant “we speak for all gay people!” activists are making a mountain out of nothing, and giving the rest of us a bad name. This B&B is run by deeply religious people (whether you think they are narrow minded bigots or not, it’s their views and their house). So what if we can’t stay there? For goodness sakes….. There are thousands of other B&Bs in this country which will take our pink pounds!
Let Susanne know what you think of her prejudices here http://www.swissbedandbreakfast.co.uk/contact.htm
I liked what the Daily Mash said: “while she may be a shrivelled old bigot, filled with stupid fear, when she says that it’s her house, she does have a point”.
The Equality Act is typical Labor social engineering bullshit by idiots like Harriet Harman and her sanctimonious, politically pious ilk.
I agree that public organisations should be covered by it (so a bank or supermarket could not refuse service to gay or black people for example).
But I think it is a private citizen’s right to be a fuckwit. If people want to start a private club which won’t admit Jews or blacks or whites, they should be allowed to. People can respond by identifying the owners and refusing them service in their PRIVATE establishments, if they want.
You can’t FORCE people to associate with each other if they don’t want to.
I agree to some extent with what you say – but this is not a private club, it is a registered business and promoted as tourist accommodation. If they want to pick and choose their guests using sexual preference as criteria then they need to pull their very public advertising, put a small notice in the personal columns about themselves and state in that manner that they don’t accommodate gays. They want to work as hosts to the general public then they have to abide by laws relating to the general public – otherwise get out of the trade. They cannot have it both ways.
What I’m saying is that it’s someone’s home being used for commercial purposes. This should come under different rules than wholly commercial premises eg. a family owned hotel or pub or corner shop. Although these can be and usually are privately owned, they are in no way residential and have a significant “public good” component. Thus, it’s reasonable to apply the same anti discrimination legislation as one would for a bank or other public company.
But when it’s a private residence used in part for commercial purposes, the rules should be different. That the Equality Act does not recognise this (yet most regular people would) is why I’m saying it is typical New Labor crap: trying to mould people’s behaviour to the ideology of the activists who wrote the legislation, rather than writing legislation to reflect the wishes of the community.
If your business premises are also your home, then a mixture of the rules of both should apply. To say that unless the B&B owner complies with all legistlation covering any commercial business, they cannot be in business at all is an unreasonable restraint of private trade in a liberal society.
What about a music teacher who refuses to teach boys in her home? Strange, but I don’t think it should be illegal.
Or a private tutor who won’t help Asians cram for selective school entrace exams because he/she thinks they abuse the system and are already overrepresented in such schools? Racist? Maybe (it could also be because the tutor does not want to assist in increasing their cultural power). Either way, it is a political view that people should be free to express in a private setting, whereas a school teacher doing the same thing would be censured.
Of course, allowing people to express contrary views has never been an element of left policy, unless those views are anti WASP.
Good on you Susanne Wilkinson. It was a charitable act indeed to let these sodomites know that their lifestyle is an abomination to God and only one place for them is Hell if they do not repent. Hope other true Christians with a B&B to run will have the same audacity to act as such. Praise be to Jesus & Mary for your bravery.
I have just been reading recently about the appalling statistics of child abuse and infanticide in New Zealand – it appears male and females in your country are doing far worse things to innocent children than what same-sex couples are doing in the privacy of their own beds elsewhere.
Don’t use the Lords name – people like you are never Christians.
I think some of you need to read your Bible God is a God of Love but he wrote the Book and actually forbids it so If that woman made a stand its her beliefs and you should respect its her home.
I don’t own a bible as it is not relevant to my life. There is a line between home and business, she was using her home as a business, that is the issue.
That is her livelyhood she wants to be honourable to God and be blessed in her business that is why they made that decision I respect the fact that she stood up for what she believed also she had other people no doubt who were staying that she had to consider. They may have been shocked that a so say Christian allowed it. Everything is being accepted these days some people dont accept it and thats their right
The law is there to protect people from discrimination for what they ARE not from what they DO. ARE and DO are very different and to conflate the two is wrong. That is the difference between this case and Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on a bus for a white person.
It’s a very important distinction. I don’t agree with this lady’s views but I would fight to the death to defend her freedom to express them. Freedom of religious expression is a bastion of civilisation (enshrined in the First Amendment of the US Constitution). The behaviour of this woman is no different to a Kosher butcher refusing to sell me pork or a Muslim restaurant owner refusing to serve me alcohol (both of which are fine by me). It’s irrelevant whether she is Christian, Muslim or secular; black or White; heterosexual or gay. She should be entitled to express her convictions. We meddle with these rights at our peril.
Surely the people who work hard at their own business have a right to their own beliefs and if this is how they choose to run their business then surely this is their right. It clearly states on their web sites ‘unmarried hetrosexuals are also not welcome’. It is obviously a ‘set up’ to persecute a couple who have not gone out of their way to upset or offend anybody. Incidently, I have stayed in hotels where children are not allowed, is this also a breach of human rights?