A gay couple who were refused when trying to rent a room at a bed and breakfast in southern England have sued and won their case.
There was a media uproar after Martyn Hall and his partner Steven Preddy were turned away from Chymorvah Private Hotel in Marazion, in southwestern England, in 2008. Husband and wife Peter and Hazelmary Bull – both devout Christians – had refused on religious grounds to let the two men share a room.
The owners of the hotel stated that since they live in the residence used as a bed and breakfast that their rights should be respected and protected. The judge disagreed, stating that the Christian couple’s rights were "inevitably circumscribed by their decision to use their home in part as a hotel."
The couple went on to say that they refused to rent to unmarried couples, period, including heterosexuals, but the judge didn’t see it that way, and awarded the couple about $2,900 each in the case.
