The Christian owners of a guesthouse who were ordered to pay a gay couple £3,600 after refusing them a double room are to appeal the decision, it emerged today.
Peter and Hazelmary Bull claim they are facing financial ruin after losing a legal battle against civil partners Steven Preddy and Martyn Hall.
They were found guilty of discrimination at Bristol County Court last week and ordered to pay Mr Hall, 46, and Mr Preddy, 38, of Bristol, £1,800 each.
The couple refused to allow them to share a double room which they had booked at the Chymorvah Private Hotel in Marazion, Cornwall, in September 2008.
Mrs Bull, 66, and her husband Peter, 71, say the policy applies to all unmarried couples and is a crucial part of their Christian beliefs.
They claim they have now become the victim of a hate campaign and the hotel has been flooded with booking enquiries from gay couples.
Mrs Bull has also received a number of menacing calls which have left her fearful while her 71-year-old husband is recovering in hospital from heart surgery.
She said: ”I’m not a prude but I’ve been left shocked and hurt by the language used.
”One told me I was an abomination and would go straight to hell.
”These people know nothing about me or my lifestyle, and I’ve been astounded by their cruelty.”
Mrs Bull revealed the couple may now be forced to close the guesthouse, which she had run for 24 years with her husband.
She added: ”I feel so upset. It is like we are being driven out.”
It is believed the The Christian Institute is providing financial and legal support for the appeal, which is likely to be heard later this year.
A typical hysterical gay response. Those gay bigots are truly hate-filled!
Isn’t it ironic that Mr & Mrs Bull will be forced to closed down their establishment after 24 years, whilst the Guyz Hotel, in Blackpool, which strictly ONLY ALLOWS GAY PEOPLE, will be celebrating being open for 24 years! The law, it seems, is not for everyone, but for a select few.
No surprise really, as the House of Lords is full of queers, sorry I meant peers!
Frankly I find the Bulls deeply unattractive people and was glad the verdict went the way it did. In my family too we consider ourselves to be Christians. I have a gay cousin who was a popular Mayor in his home town. We all attended his civil partnership ceremony with his partner of 10 years recently. We try to live by that part of Christ’s teaching that tells us “Love is the fuffillment of the Law.” I do not see the Bulls as doing this. And as this case ruining them – nonsense. The Christian Institute, known for its support for some fairly loony Christian” causes, will no doubt be equally generous to the Bulls. Their brand of Christianity irepels rather than attracting, and I can’t help feeling the Bulls got the result they could have expected, had they given the matter more thought. Christians are not exempt from the law, quite the contrary.
That all sounds very noble. But how is your gay cousin ever going to accept that his homosexual actions are classified as sin, from a biblical perspective, if you, a Christian, are seen endorsing his actions when you attended his civil partnership?
You seem a bit confused as to what the meaning of ‘love is the fulfillment of the law’ is. Showing love for your friend also includes telling him what sin is and why he is a sinner. I doubt you would have told him this if you openly endorsed his ‘marriage’.
When you state “Christians are not exempt from the law”, what happens when the law abolishes Christianity? Do you obey that? Because this is the true meaning of this case, an erosion of Christian beliefs, replaced with old Pagan culture. Remember, homosexuality was outlawed, the law was against homosexuality (as it was based on the Christian Law), the
law has now changed in the favour of homosexuals. What law are you obeying, man’s law or God’s Law?
Where is your ‘love’ for Mr & Mrs Bull? Describing them as “deeply unattractive” is borderline hatred.
In response to Rev Wright; I’m not at all confused about what I mean by love, thanks, Rev. If -and I say if- I were to take every word of the Bible literally, I would have been entitled to kill my daughter for her disobedience, and would owe my husband unquestioning obedience. There are a few strictures on pork and slaves some of us find hard to swallow too, no pun intended, and I am sure you will already be aware of other examples of the same ilk, that make literal interpretation a little more complex than you seem to find it. I do find those who insist on the literal interpretation of the Word to be a little selective -well, very selective, actually. The bits that castigate gays and keep women in a lower status come trippingly to the tongue, while the more controversial, complex and sometimes let’s face it downright unworkable parts are pointedly ignored.
As to the Bulls – well, their last arguments seem to have revolved far more around the loss of dosh than their Christian principles. What makes me think they won’t starve, while there are so many people around in and outside the clergy ready to deal in the well-worn cliches that they believe clinch every argument/
Sorry, you have not really answered the questions posed.
That is, what do you mean by ‘love’. Do you tell your friend, in love, that performing a homosexual act is NOT a sin? Where does the Bible state that it is not a sin?
Would you obey the law if it outlawed Christianity?
I don’t consider the Bible to be simple by any means, but out of curiousity, what parts of God’s word are controversial and unworkable? I’d of thought it only becomes controversial when very clear instructions, such as regarding homosexuality, are ignored, then turned into complex problems, just because people don’t like what they read.
Do you really think the gay couple acted correctly? Would you go to the police if you were offered a single room instead of a double? I see below that the gay hotel in Blackpool would not allow straight people in at all, no accommodation would be offered, is that discrimination too?