Could This Couple Now Be Charged With Religious Discrimination?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9945791/Christian-guesthouse-owners-find-way-to-carry-on-banning-gay-couples.html

[mikey4444]

Some people on AB are completely misunderstanding the situation and the Law. If you open up your house to paying guests than it becomes a commercial concern and isn't a home in the accepted sense any more. We cannot have a law that protects bigots.

We have anti discrimination laws in situ to give us protection from bigots. When my father first arrived in London from Ireland after the War, looking for work, Guest Houses had signs up saying " No blacks, no dogs and no Irish"

What if the couple that they turned away were black ? Would we want to protect the owners of hotels from the Law, just because they acted like bigots ?

Anyway, what on earth business is it of anybody what people get up when they are in bed ?

I pass by this Guest House dozens of times every summer, when I am in the area on holiday. Now that I know what she looks like, it is unlikely that I would even want to stay there ...that woman would curdle the cornflake milk !

[Bazile]

//Anyway, what on earth business is it of anybody what people get up when they are in bed ? //

I guess it depends whose bed your'e in

[LazyGun]

@AoG Clearly the law does not agree with you, in this case.

@Dave50. Read mikeys answer. Once a commercial concern, you cannot discriminate against who you offer service to on the grounds of gender, race, sexual orientation or religion.

[joggerjayne]

This is my problem ...

The gay community have spent decades saying ... just accept us.

Accept or way of life.

Accept our principles.

Let us get on with it, even if you don't like us very much.

And now, that has (largely) been achieved.

So now this couple, with their strange beliefs, are saying ...

Just accept us, and our beliefs, even if you don't like us very much.

I live in the middle of the biggest gay community in the UK (although I'm not part of it) (well, mostly not, lol) so it's easy to say what I'm about to say, because this is an easy place to be gay, but ... frankly ...

Sod them.

Life is too short to waste it, getting agitated about silly people like that.

Let them have their silly Christians and their dull middle class heterosexuals. Some of us know where the best fun is to be had and, around here, it's the gay bars. Ignore people like that and, eventually, they will crawl away.

The argument against leaving them alone is that, if they get away with it, then lots of other people will do the same thing. But no they won't. Because other people don't agree with them. In fact, if AB is a fair cross section of society, pretty much no one agrees with them.

Besides, why would anyone want to stay with such dull, ghastly people? Nobody in their right mind. So why do we want the law to force them to let us stay with them?

[joggerjayne]

ps. I know what the Law says.

But if we limit the discussion to " the Law says this ... The End " then we will miss the opportunity to discuss the wider principles.

[Bazile]

//..dull middle class heterosexuals. //

I'm not dull

How many christians are on this site ?

[joggerjayne]

Sorry, Baz ... I didn't mean to generalise.

x

[youngmafbog]

And I wonder what would happen in a Muslim guest house ?

[doctordb]

No need to wonder ymb, the same laws would apply.

[joggerjayne]

The same laws would "apply" ...

But I bet they would not "be applied"

[ummmm]

/But I bet they would not "be applied" /

No different to the Christian couple then!

[joggerjayne]

No different, precisely.

As long as the dopey Christian couple are left to get on with their stupid little business.

They are getting way too much publicity from this. Non gays will love them. Gays will want to try to stay there out of principle. They could make a fortune.

[ichkeria]

Of course if a "Moslem" guest house did the same we might have a different set of comments from some people :-) "Ignore them and they'll go away" perhaps not being one of them

The bottom line is: if you own a public guest house you're subject to laws that might not apply to other establishments, religious or otherwise. Whether you're a Moslem, Christian, Jew or non-Believer

I'm afraid it does all come back to law.

[joggerjayne]

But is the thread about ... What does the law say?

Or is it about ... What do we think?

If its about what the law says, it only needs to be one post long.

:0)

[sp1814]

JJ

This Christian couple do not have to ban gay people from their establishment, because there is absolutely nothing in the Bible which states you cannot be a Christian and consort with gay people.

"Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination."

That's what's in the Bible - so this couple, if they are Christian should not have sex with people of the same sex.

It doesn't mean they can't be friends with gay people, or have to reject their children if they turn out to be gay, or not rent a room to gay couples.

What they have done is cherry pick the bits of the Bible which tally to their own particular mindset.

One wonders what they would do if an ovulating woman booked a room.

Also, what is their stance on the serving of shellfish, or the wearing of man-made fibre?

I wonder why the gentleman is clean shaven! That's a Biblical no-no isn't it?

[doctordb]

Sp, the wife is the one with the tache. :)

[atalanta]

I wonder if this couple know the meaning of the word "hypocrisy"

[jno]

sounds fine to me, though I don't see how the "not for profit'" bit works. Aside from that, Christians are welcome to put up fellow Christians; it's been happening for millennia. Gays may offer similar service for their own kind, as may animal-lovers and people who like to play Sim City.

[ichkeria]

"
joggerjayne
But is the thread about ... What does the law say?

Or is it about ... What do we think?

If its about what the law says, it only needs to be one post long. "

Well, the original question suggests it IS about the law, and as I don't know the answer I dodged it and made a rude comment about the cheerful lady in the picture instead :-)
Religious discrimination is probably a greyer area. My guess is the answer would be "no" however.

[FredPuli43]

Easy to test.This sounds devious. Be interesting to know how this non-profit organisation operates and when it proposes to be registered as a charity. Turn up and say you are Jewish and won't eat pork ! We take it that you'll be refused since they only take Christians and would be in breach of their company's Articles. If not,and you are taken without demur or question, then a pretence will be exposed. They might even have difficulty, at least in theory, avoiding a charge of obtaining your money by deception too, assuming you pay up front. The action is ultra vires the company, as being contrary to its articles and, no doubt, its Memorandum.