Gay Couple Win B&B Discrimination Case

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I see you've taken a stand -

We the People...

...of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Is there an asterisk in there somewheres - a footnote that says we only mean for some of the people, some of the time - whenever some of us see fit or are feeling like we might be ready for it?

Patriots come in all colors - and sometimes in all the colors of the rainbow

:-)

Fun arguing with you Wrabbit

You're stubborn - and I do like it best when you argue against your own argument

reply to post by Spiramirabilis


That's the whole problem with virtually any issue...any issue at all...which involves the gay community and any form of political gain. It's 100% for or 100% against. There is no room for middle ground or reasoned thinking where both sides of a given example may be a bit right and wrong at the same time.

There might be a little of both sides to be seen here, but the polarization to extremes will likely never allow it to be seen either way. Sad on that....

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


You think that some people should have the right to their bigotry. Well, they have that right - they just can't discriminate openly - legally

You want to single out the gay community as some kind of exemption - as if they are the one group for which we can truly say there is no right way or wrong way to behave towards them - it's up to the individual

I've asked you - more than once - should we repeal the laws that make it wrong to discriminate against anyone?

You won't answer the question

All you do is tell me that there's something wrong with the way the gay community behaves - and that allowing them to be treated the same way as everyone else is somehow infringing on the rights of others - but you'll never actually come out and say how this bad behavior and their inherent 'wrongness' causes any damage

The most I can figure is that somehow it's wrong to punish people for breaking the law - when it involves gay people

I think we've gone about as far as we can with this one Wrabbit. Sorry - I'm not buying what you're selling

blupblup
A gay couple won their case today after the judge ruled in their favour.

The Christian owners of a seaside guesthouse acted unlawfully by refusing to let a gay couple share a double bed, a judge has ruled in a landmark case.

Peter and Hazelmary Bull did not allow civil partners Martyn Hall and Steven Preddy to use a double room in their Cornwall B&B because it would be "an affront to their faith".

However, a judge at Bristol County Court said the couple were breaking the law by denying the men a room.

Mr Hall and Mr Preddy were each awarded £1,800 in damages.

The couple said they were extremely happy with the outcome of the case.

"When we booked this hotel we just wanted to do something that thousands of
other couples do every weekend - take a relaxing weekend break away.

"We're really pleased that the judge has confirmed what we already know - that in these circumstances our civil partnership has the same status in law as a marriage between a man and a woman, and that, regardless of each person's religious beliefs, no-one is above the law."

news.sky.com...
www.guardian.co.uk...

edit on 18/1/11 by blupblup because: (no reason given)

edit on 18/1/11 by blupblup because: (no reason given)

edit on 18/1/11 by blupblup because: (no reason given)

I would have denied them the room and stood my ground. I do not have to have anyone in my business if I don't want them there. Period.

reply to post by Fromabove



They did stand their ground

They lost the case

reply to post by Spiramirabilis

I've asked you - more than once - should we repeal the laws that make it wrong to discriminate against anyone?

Okay, on the hope that you're not simply sitting with a verbal trap on this, as it can so easily be done. Any answer I give is a wrong answer, depending on someone's reason behind asking it. If I say no, then I'm not consistent with my own point. If I say yes, then I'm evil incarnate for wanting to roll back basic human rights. It's a no win question and it's too obvious not to see and avoid.

However, again, based on past history.. I'll take you as genuine, albeit as stubborn as I am.

No we should not repeal the laws which block discrimination. However, we don't need to keep expanding them to cover everything that makes anyone different from the baseline average, either.

Now I made a point on this earlier no one really addressed that I saw, now that we're covering past issues. Why on Earth would a gay couple sue a small, close Bed and Breakfast business to force their way into staying in the home of people who don't like them? It's punitive not corrective ..and that does make a difference to me.

Some of these reek (yes I said reek) like the lawyers who carry a tape measure to check things like height of paper towel dispensers and bathroom door handles everywhere they go, hoping to MAKE a case by finding a Gotcha. Not that it inconveniences them, if they hadn't been looking for it ..but it might ..somewhere, at some point, inconvenience someone ..so why not them to sue over it and collect a payday? Really, little difference IMO, when it's getting petty in nature such as this example.

* Keep in mind, I noted before that I *HAVE* been refused housing arrangements with my partner....but she wasn't a he, despite being equally unmarried but committed, so that didn't seem to matter here ..which pretty much makes my whole case of why these ARE cases in the first place.

All the wrong reasons, too often.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I can tell that's it's difficult for you to understand the predicament of 2 men who grew up gay in the 70s and that any slight reminder of the that treatment they would have recieved in that time period, in their opinion, deserves all the punishment that is legally warranted for it.

This elderly couple has their opinions (more like indoctrinations), but other people have their realities. Realities trump opinions.

There is no middle ground.

These people did not choose to be gay and they love eachother and they deserve to get a double bed because they're a damned married couple just like every other married couple in the country. I can only imagine the hundreds of straight couples who simply said that they were married and came and went to this B&B unquestioned about it. But 2 men? No, they couldn't possibly be joined in wedlock. Why not? Because we're old and don't understand the world or the laws surrounding the business we run. Ignorance of the law should hold up in court, right? Let's just look feeble and try to get sympathy about it. Worst case scenario our sob story will get upvotes on a website that our children will have to show us how to access.

If anyone wants to disagree with two married men sharing a bed based on any of their regurgitations of common bigotry and adolescent tripe then they deserve every ounce of pain that they were clearly begging for in the first place. You're complaining about persecution of a couple of bigots whose business had it coming in the long run anyways by 2 people who -- I promise you -- wouldn't care to hear about the woes and "persecution" of 2 straight white folks living in a middle class neighbourhood. You know why? Because if you actually have the odacity to make kindergarten rules for your customers and take it as far as court to prove a point you never had, then you're probably living a pretty damned spoiled life.

And they'll certainly get no sympathy from me or this thing called the law either.

Wrabbit2000
Why on Earth would a gay couple sue a small, close Bed and Breakfast business to force their way into staying in the home of people who don't like them? It's punitive not corrective ..and that does make a difference to me.

Why? To make a point, and to create precedent so that other bigots need not act so surprised when they're called out on their behaviour.

Really, why do folks still jump up in defence of bigotry in this day and age? I was hoping that Western society was becoming a tad more enlightened.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000

However, again, based on past history.. I'll take you as genuine, albeit as stubborn as I am.

I'm not stubborn - I'm just right :-)

You and your girlfriend shouldn't have been refused - not on religious grounds - not on any grounds. If you say you are a couple - you are a couple. You don't want to make a fuss - and you don't see why others should either. This is something I understand - I just don't feel the same way

I have to agree with several other posters in this thread - there's no excuse for bigotry. There are reasons - but not excuses

Things change only when things are challenged. If we don't put the things we agree on to the test - we might as well not even bother. We have, as a people - agreed that discrimination is wrong. You want to blame the people who were wronged for making a case out of it

Golly Wrabbit - sometimes - you just gotta make a fuss

As I said - I think this argument has run it's course. At least for now. See ya in the funny pages

:-)