There has been a minor kerfuffle lately here over
the refusal of a Berkshire bed and breakfast owner to allow a gay couple to stay there. The Conservative shadow home secretary, Chris Grayling,
says that he believes that B&B owners using their own homes as business premises who have religious objections to homosexuality should be allowed to refuse accommodation to same sex couples. Of course, he does not believe this should extend to those premises such as hotels or larger B&Bs which are not mostly private homes. The difficulty is that refusing accommodation to same-sex couples is against the law in the United Kingdom. Grayling voted for this law when it was passed. There is no clause that would allow any hotel or B&B owner to refuse accommodation to same-sex couples on the grounds of religion.
My only comment is that I would have a bit more sympathy for the Christian B&B owners if they required a marriage certificate for any mixed-sex couple who booked accommodation there. As they do not so require, they have no leg to stand on and should be prosecuted for discrimination.
As no B&B could continue in business if they required proof of marriage before accommodating a mixed-sex couple—who carries their marriage certificate with them when travelling?—this will not stand and business owners who discriminate against lesbians and gay men will be prosecuted.
In this season of Easter, where the Christian message is that even God himself could suffer and die for our salvation, haters cannot use religion as a bullet-proof vest.
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