A homosexual couple has won the first round in their lawsuit against the Christian owners of a bed and breakfast in England who plan to pursue round two.
When Susanne Wilkinson and her husband refused to accommodate the homosexual couple, citing their Christian beliefs, they were sued (see earlier story). Reading Crown Court has now found that Mrs. Wilkinson discriminated against Michael Black and John Morgan because of their sexual orientation. But one activist says that ruling is flawed.
"Susanne Wilkinson and Mike, her husband, run their business from their home, and they have very deeply held convictions, biblical convictions, that all sex outside of marriage is contrary to God's purposes," Andrea Williams of Christian Concern recently told BBC. "So actually that applies to heterosexual couples and also to same-sex couples -- all sex outside of marriage is wrong."
With the initial ruling favoring the homosexual couple, Williams wonders whether religious freedom actually exists anymore in the United Kingdom.
"Now, what are we going to say to all those people who have those kinds of convictions? Are they going to be taken out of the public space?" she asks.
"I mean, indeed as we begin to look … Catholic adoption agencies are being closed because they believe children need a mother and a father -- that's actually happened. We've seen registrars lose their job because they won't preside over same-sex civil partnerships."
The Wilkinsons were found guilty of breaching the Equality Act of 2007 and will have to pay the same-sex couple more than $5,700 in damages. They do, however, plan to appeal, arguing that the law needs to be more flexible so that it allows liberty of conscience for people of faith.