The US Supreme Court chose not to hear a case that involved a lesbian couple who was denied a room at a Hawaiian bed and breakfast. Instead, the court will let a Hawaiian court’s ruling stand that found that the owner of the Aloha Bed and Breakfast, Phyllis Young, violated the state’s anti-discrimination laws when she denied the lesbian couple a room.
“Mrs. Young will rent a bedroom in her home to anyone, including those who are LGBT, but will not rent to any romantic partners other than a husband and wife,” her attorney, James Hochberg, said in a statement. “This kind of governmental coercion should disturb every freedom-loving American no matter where you stand on marriage.”
The lesbian couple Diane Cervelli and Taeko Bufford of Long Beach, California were denied a room because of this bigotry when they tried to check-in in 2007.
Originally, the couple filed a complaint with the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, and it eventually went to a Hawaiian appeals court after the commission found that the B and B owner discriminated.
“The freedom of religion does not give businesses a right to violate nondiscrimination laws that protect all individuals from harm, whether on the basis of race, gender, or sexual orientation,” Peter Renn, an attorney who represents the couple, said in a statement. [USA]
