Gay couple turned away from B&B

grenache

I don't care what a person's beliefs are, you can't treat minorities like this in 2010. Disappointing to see that some people are still stuck in the middle ages.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20100321/tuk-gay-couple-turned-away-from-b-b-6323e80.html

A gay couple have claimed they were turned away from a bed & breakfast because the owner said it was "against her convictions" to allow them to share a bed. Michael Black, 62, and John Morgan, 56, from Brampton, Cambridgeshire, have reported the owner of the Swiss B&B in Cookham to police for discriminating against them.

The couple arrived at the guest house near Maidenhead, Berkshire, on Friday and were met outside by the owner Susanne Wilkinson.

"She could see through the windscreen that we were two men," said Mr Black. "And when we got out of the car she was immediately distant and unfriendly and then she said, 'it's a double room', and we said 'yes'. "She said, 'it's a large double bed in a double room' and we said, 'yes', and then she said it was against her convictions to let us stay.

"We said it was illegal to discriminate against people who stay in hotels because that's all we knew at the time and she said it was her private home and it was against her convictions. She said she was sorry and she was polite in a cold way and she was not abusive, so we asked our money back and she gave it to us."

Mr Black said the couple were "very angry" but then met friends nearby and went to the theatre but decided to drive the 80 miles back to their home. Mr Black said the couple had been interviewed by Cambridgeshire police after they first complained to Thames Valley Police online. He said they had been advised the offence would be treated as a civil matter and they should take Mrs Wilkinson to county court. But Mr Black said he understood that under the Equality Act 2006 it is illegal to discriminate against people on the grounds of sexual orientation, even in a guest house.

Mrs Wilkinson was not answering her phone at the guest house on Sunday night. But earlier she told BBC News she had turned the men away.

"They gave me no prior warning and I couldn't offer them another room as I was fully booked, she said. "I don't see why I should change my mind and my beliefs I've held for years just because the government should force it on me. I am not a hotel, I am a guest house and this is a private house."

A spokesman for Stonewall, the gay rights campaign group, said turning a couple away because of their sexual orientation was illegal. Derek Munn, director of public affairs, said: "Stonewall was delighted when the law changed in 2007 so that lesbian and gay couples could go on their holidays like anyone else. In open-and-shut cases of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation the law's quite clear - it's illegal for businesses to turn away gay customers or discriminate against them when providing goods or services, and this can't be overridden by personal prejudice."

A spokeswoman for Thames Valley Police said: "We are aware of the incident and were contacted yesterday. The call has been logged as a homophobic incident. As the people live outside of the force area, we have asked Cambridgeshire Constabulary to speak to the individuals concerned."

mikom

grenache wrote: »

Disappointing to see that some people are still stuck in the middle ages.
l

I know..... a B&B.... who stays in them anymore.
Its all hotels now.

eth0_

Well...there's plenty of B&B's in Ireland (and the UK too, i'm sure) who don't like to accommodate non-married straight couples.

old hippy

Yeah, heard about this. Unfortunately, there's plenty who would just shrug their shoulders on hearing this story & say that they should have tried somewhere else and not made a fuss about it

SV

All she'll have to do is say it was because of her religious beliefs and there's not a fúcking thing they can do.

Hogzy

At the end of the day its their property and they can be as prejudiced as they like and nothing can be done about it!

Degsy

B&B owners can give all kinds of reasons for not letting people stay..its thier property after all.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

I don't like coloured people or jews into my hotel because it's against my beliefs...???

I'm also not a racist....


The woman in this article is an auld bint, drag her through the court system, should sort her out.

Dave!

One gay couple got turned away from one B&B... wow

Seriously, this warrants a thread?

The other day I heard some bloke calling another one a "dirty wog"

You can read more about this alarming incident in the thread I'm about to start..........

Millicent

Hogzy wrote: »

At the end of the day its their property and they can be as prejudiced as they like and nothing can be done about it!

They can't if it's a commercial property which a guesthouse is. It's not like she was letting them sleep on her couch for nowt, they were paying guests.

eth0_

eth0_ wrote: »

Well...there's plenty of B&B's in Ireland (and the UK too, i'm sure) who don't like to accommodate non-married straight couples.

Really? :eek: The only place I've ever encountered that was in Morocco and even then just letting them think we were married was grand. Scary!

AnonoBoy

Whenever I'm staying in a double room in a B&B with my gay lover we just pretend he's my uncle and it's all ok.

Seems to be the norm for the backward child-raping, inbred f*ckhead regions anyways.

Millicent

*sitting waiting for the "It's political correctness gone mad!" argument* :P

efb

He's a bit young for an uncle...
B&B are epic fails! Who stays in them?

AnonoBoy

Degsy wrote: »

But this aint Seaworld,this is as real as it gets.
I'm on a boat,motherfcucker,dont you ever forget.

I scrolled up the page on this thread and saw your sig and thought, what a non-sequitar contribution to a thread on gays in B&Bs. Nice. So I'm quoting that instead of your post. Hope you don't mind.

Dave! wrote: »

The other day I heard some bloke calling another one a "dirty wog"

You can read more about this alarming incident in the thread I'm about to start..........

Don't you have a newsletter I can subscribe to?

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

SV wrote: »

All she'll have to do is say it was because of her religious beliefs and there's not a fúcking thing they can do.

Hogzy wrote: »

At the end of the day its their property and they can be as prejudiced as they like and nothing can be done about it!

Degsy wrote: »

B&B owners can give all kinds of reasons for not letting people stay..its thier property after all.

Wrong...


The recent furore has surrounded discrimination against gay couples, where a number of B&B owners have refused to allow them to share a room on the grounds that their sexuality contradicts their religious beliefs. This was brought to a head when the government introduced the sexual orientation regulations that would outlaw the provision of any service on those grounds.

From here.

Degsy

Flynn Prickly Link wrote: »

Wrong...


The recent furore has surrounded discrimination against gay couples, where a number of B&B owners have refused to allow them to share a room on the grounds that their sexuality contradicts their religious beliefs. This was brought to a head when the government introduced the sexual orientation regulations that would outlaw the provision of any service on those grounds.

From here.

Yeah but its difficult to prove that the reaon they were turned away was that they were gay.
Obviously if the owner says "no gay coules in the rooms" you'd have a case but she could say something like "I dont like the look of you,especially you in the dress".

efb

I thought the glory hole in the loo meant 'gay friendly' missus...

old hippy

Dave! wrote: »

One gay couple got turned away from one B&B... wow

Seriously, this warrants a thread?

The other day I heard some bloke calling another one a "dirty wog"

You can read more about this alarming incident in the thread I'm about to start..........

Instead we should just ignore such incidents, sweep 'em under the carpet & say, ah well, sh*t happens?

Gummy Panda

Degsy wrote: »

B&B owners can give all kinds of reasons for not letting people stay..its thier property after all.

I don't think they can if they're using their property as a business.

SV

Flynn Prickly Link wrote: »

Wrong...


The recent furore has surrounded discrimination against gay couples, where a number of B&B owners have refused to allow them to share a room on the grounds that their sexuality contradicts their religious beliefs. This was brought to a head when the government introduced the sexual orientation regulations that would outlaw the provision of any service on those grounds.

From here.

Bet if it was Islam they wouldn't even try and bring a case against them..

but cheers for the link

Degsy

Gummy Panda wrote: »

I don't think they can if they're using their property as a business.

Yeah but pubs can refuse people for all kinds of reasons..no doorman would say to a couple that it was because they were gay,that would be legal suicide.
They'd just say "not tonite" or whatever.

grenache

Dave! wrote: »

One gay couple got turned away from one B&B... wow

Seriously, this warrants a thread?

2 pages of replies in ten mins should answer your question

Dave!

old hippy wrote: »

Instead we should just ignore such incidents, sweep 'em under the carpet & say, ah well, sh*t happens?

No, if there's laws against it then report the incident to the relevant authorities; if there's not, then lobby politicians to introduce such a law.

I don't think there's any discussion to be had other than "yeah that shouldn't be happening"

Every individual incident of injustice doesn't warrant a thread on boards

old hippy

Dave! wrote: »

No, if there's laws against it then report the incident to the relevant authorities; if there's not, then lobby politicians to introduce such a law.

I don't think there's any discussion to be had other than "yeah that shouldn't be happening"

Every individual incident of injustice doesn't warrant a thread on boards

Fair enough, D! I'm new here, so you tell me what warrants a thread & I'll comply.

Have a good evening

Degsy

old hippy wrote: »

Fair enough, D! I'm new here, so you tell me what warrants a thread & I'll comply.

Have a good evening

If you said "Public Servants Murder Gay Couple in passport office" you'd have a thread!

Dave!

old hippy wrote: »

Fair enough, D! I'm new here, so you tell me what warrants a thread & I'll comply.

Have a good evening

Just clear any future threads with me first and you'll be grand

Welcome to boards !

DonJose

Been years since I stayed in a B&B, stayed in one in the Aran Islands and my GF swore the old owner was peeking into the shower from the window above the door. Would have told him to fukk off, but I don't speak Irish.

Hogzy

Flynn Prickly Link wrote: »

Wrong...


The recent furore has surrounded discrimination against gay couples, where a number of B&B owners have refused to allow them to share a room on the grounds that their sexuality contradicts their religious beliefs. This was brought to a head when the government introduced the sexual orientation regulations that would outlaw the provision of any service on those grounds.

From here.

Thats English Legislation that does not apply in Ireland. If your B&B is your home then you can refuse anyone you want. Its not a commercial premises its your home property and 99% of B&B's are homes.

Gummy Panda

Degsy wrote: »

Yeah but pubs can refuse people for all kinds of reasons..no doorman would say to a couple that it was because they were gay,that would be legal suicide.
They'd just say "not tonite" or whatever.

yes but you challenge the not tonight and they have to prove they had a legitmate reason for refusing entry.

nicegirl

Thats so wrong...Discrimination!!

Degsy

Gummy Panda wrote: »

yes but you challenge the not tonight and they have to prove they had a legitmate reason for refusing entry.

Challenge the "not tonite" and you'll get told to fcuck off away from the door.
The real world can be a bastard of a place sometimes and sometimes it just aint fair but thats the way it is.

ejmaztec

DonJose wrote: »

Been years since I stayed in a B&B, stayed in one in the Aran Islands and my GF swore the old owner was peeking into the shower from the window above the door. Would have told him to fukk off, but I don't speak Irish.

You should have used the Universal Language i.e. kicked him in the balls.

Bonito

It's in the name, Boobs and Balls. One part has to be female and the other part male. Or one can be a hermaphradite. Whatever you're in to.

scudzilla

It was her HOME, she surely has the right to decide who stays there

GLaDOS

scudzilla wrote: »

It was her HOME, she surely has the right to decide who stays there

I agree with this tbh, she's a intolerent backwards old bint, but I can understand not wanting to let something against her convictions happen in her house, misguided as they may be.

scudzilla

I'm sure that if the couple who turned up were male and female but junkies, ya know the look, really strung out, she'd have refused them too. I doubt we'd be hearing anything about this now, just the fact that they happened to be gay has made it news.

Like i said, her home, her choice who stays in it

Millicent

scudzilla wrote: »

I'm sure that if the couple who turned up were male and female but junkies, ya know the look, really strung out, she'd have refused them too. I doubt we'd be hearing anything about this now, just the fact that they happened to be gay has made it news.

Like i said, her home, her choice who stays in it

Not really if she's charging for the pleasure.

GLaDOS

scudzilla wrote: »

I'm sure that if the couple who turned up were male and female but junkies, ya know the look, really strung out, she'd have refused them too. I doubt we'd be hearing anything about this now, just the fact that they happened to be gay has made it news.

Like i said, her home, her choice who stays in it

Someone obviosly high on drugs might be a danger to the owners and other guests, would be perfectly reasonable to refuse them, can't compare that to a gay couple

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

scudzilla wrote: »

It was her HOME, she surely has the right to decide who stays there

ScienceNerd wrote: »

I agree with this tbh, she's a intolerent backwards old bint, but I can understand not wanting to let something against her convictions happen in her house, misguided as they may be.

I only quoted it on the previous page, but here you go again.

Flynn Prickly Link wrote: »

Wrong...


The recent furore has surrounded discrimination against gay couples, where a number of B&B owners have refused to allow them to share a room on the grounds that their sexuality contradicts their religious beliefs. This was brought to a head when the government introduced the sexual orientation regulations that would outlaw the provision of any service on those grounds.

From here.

Degsy wrote: »

Yeah but its difficult to prove that the reaon they were turned away was that they were gay.
Obviously if the owner says "no gay coules in the rooms" you'd have a case but she could say something like "I dont like the look of you,especially you in the dress".

Definately, the best thing she could have done was to say "sorry we are full" but they had made a booking. She kinda shot herself in the foot.

SV wrote: »

Bet if it was Islam they wouldn't even try and bring a case against them..

but cheers for the link

Hmm, not sure, I think they would. I couldn't see the high courts discriminating against anyone. Not sure if it happens or not.

Hogzy wrote: »

Thats English Legislation that does not apply in Ireland. If your B&B is your home then you can refuse anyone you want. Its not a commercial premises its your home property and 99% of B&B's are homes.

The case is in England... Why would I quote a law from a different country than the article the OP is about?

scudzilla wrote: »

I'm sure that if the couple who turned up were male and female but junkies, ya know the look, really strung out, she'd have refused them too. I doubt we'd be hearing anything about this now, just the fact that they happened to be gay has made it news.

Like i said, her home, her choice who stays in it

Well junkies are not socially acceptable. Again, it might be her home, but it's a business. Refer to the top of this post for clarification.

Midnight_EG

Since when is being gay a minority?

GLaDOS

Midnight_EG wrote: »

Since when is being gay a minority?

Since there is less gay people then straight people.

Helix

Millicent wrote: »

Not really if she's charging for the pleasure.

its not like she took their money and didnt let them stay

Millicent

Helix wrote: »

its not like she took their money and didnt let them stay

Only cos they asked for a refund. Can you imagine going to Tesco and the security guard refusing you your shopping because you were gay? Or the Hilton or the Ritz not letting you in because you were gay?

Just because she was running a business from her home does not negate her responsibility to her customers who weren't doing anything to cause a disruption.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Midnight_EG wrote: »

Since when is being gay a minority?

Lol wtf?

You didn't really think about that one, did you? :P

Degsy

I really dont see why people should wear thier sexual preferences on thier sleeves as much as some people do.
Its almost like they're looking for trouble..i mean if you get refused from a pub you dont start taking them through the courts..you find somewhere else.
But if you happen to be gay and it occurs,some people cant wait to start going to the media talking about discrimination etc.
I know that if i were gay,which i aint,i'd keep it to myself as its really none of anybody else's business.
I used to be a punk rocker in my early 20's and the amount of discrimination,hostility and outright violence we sometimes faced was unbeleivable..not just in pubs etc but walking down the street...i made the decision to wear the "costume song and dance" so in many ways i brought it on myself but in other ways you should be allowed to do your own thing without interference from others.
Discrimination will always occur,its the nature of human beings to be narrow minded but when it happpens,dust yourself down and dont get on a high horse about it.

Millicent

Degsy wrote: »

I really dont see why people should wear thier sexual preferences on thier sleeves as much as some people do.
Its almost like they're looking for trouble..i mean if you get refused from a pub you dont start taking them through the courts..you find somewhere else.
But if you happen to be gay and it occurs,some people cant wait to start going to the media talking about discrimination etc.
I know that if i were gay,which i aint,i'd keep it to myself as its really none of anybody else's business.
I used to be a punk rocker in my early 20's and the amount of discrimination,hostility and outright violence we sometimes faced was unbeleivable..not just in pubs etc but walking down the street...i made the decision to wear the "costume song and dance" so in many ways i brought it on myself but in other ways you should be allowed to do your own thing without interference from others.
Discrimination will always occur,its the nature of human beings to be narrow minded but when it happpens,dust yourself down and dont get on a high horse about it.

How is looking for a bed for the night wearing their sexuality on their sleeves though? And no one ever says to hetero couples, "ew, that's disgusting. Get your straightness out of my face."

efb

But if people don't stand up for their rights, nothing will change.

Should Rosa Parks just sat in her area and not made an issue of it?

Midnight_EG

I wouldnt consider someone gay as being in a minority though, being homosexual shouldnt be classed as a 'group' like black/white/muslim/christian.

efb

Midnight_EG wrote: »

I wouldnt consider someone gay as being in a minority though, being homosexual shouldnt be classed as a 'group' like black/white/muslim/christian.

How would you class them?

GLaDOS

Midnight_EG wrote: »

I wouldnt consider someone gay as being in a minority though, being homosexual shouldnt be classed as a 'group' like black/white/muslim/christian.

Why are those things 'groups' and sexuality isn't?