The owner of a bed and breakfast is being sued by a gay couple, after refusing them a double room because of her religious views.
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Gay couple Michael Black, 64, and John Morgan, 59, have sought damages from B&B owner Susanne Wilkinson after she refused them the room at the Swiss Bed and Breakfast in Cookham, Berkshire, UK, in March 2010.Â
Mr Black had booked the double room online. However when he and his partner arrived to check in, Mrs Wilkinson made it abundantly clear that she was not prepared to allow them to share a double bed. Mrs Wilkinson considered that providing a double bed to the couple would involve her in promoting what she believed to be a sin, namely sexual relations outside heterosexual marriage.
Lawyers from Liberty, the human rights organisation, argued for Mr Black and Mr Morgan, that under legal regulations it was 'unlawful for a person concerned with the provision of services to the public to discriminate against a person on the grounds of that person's sexual orientation.'Â
Lawyers for Mrs Wilkinson countered that line, by saying 'a person offering bed and breakfast in their own home was entitled to refuse to permit persons who were not married or in a civil partnership (whether of the opposite sex or the same sex) to share a double bed.'Â The couple are not in a civil partnership.
Mrs Wilkinson's lawyer told the court: ''If Mrs Wilkinson had simply said, 'don't come in because you're gay', that could never be justified. It was simply the provision of the double bed which Mrs Wilkinson believed was wrong.''
Lawyers for the couple, said: ''It is obvious that there is a difficult balancing act to be carried out in this case. The proper balance to be struck has already been determined by the very clear will of Parliament.''
The men are seeking £3,600 damages, which they will donate to charity if successful.
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Gay couple Michael Black, 64, and John Morgan, 59, have sought damages from B&B owner Susanne Wilkinson after she refused them the room at the Swiss Bed and Breakfast in Cookham, Berkshire, UK, in March 2010.Â
Mr Black had booked the double room online. However when he and his partner arrived to check in, Mrs Wilkinson made it abundantly clear that she was not prepared to allow them to share a double bed. Mrs Wilkinson considered that providing a double bed to the couple would involve her in promoting what she believed to be a sin, namely sexual relations outside heterosexual marriage.
Lawyers from Liberty, the human rights organisation, argued for Mr Black and Mr Morgan, that under legal regulations it was 'unlawful for a person concerned with the provision of services to the public to discriminate against a person on the grounds of that person's sexual orientation.'Â
Lawyers for Mrs Wilkinson countered that line, by saying 'a person offering bed and breakfast in their own home was entitled to refuse to permit persons who were not married or in a civil partnership (whether of the opposite sex or the same sex) to share a double bed.'Â The couple are not in a civil partnership.
Mrs Wilkinson's lawyer told the court: ''If Mrs Wilkinson had simply said, 'don't come in because you're gay', that could never be justified. It was simply the provision of the double bed which Mrs Wilkinson believed was wrong.''
Lawyers for the couple, said: ''It is obvious that there is a difficult balancing act to be carried out in this case. The proper balance to be struck has already been determined by the very clear will of Parliament.''
The men are seeking £3,600 damages, which they will donate to charity if successful.
