A bread & breakfast owner who was penalised for following a rooming policy based on her Christian beliefs about marriage and sexual ethics is taking her case to the Supreme Court.
Susanne Wilkinson was sued by homosexual couple, Michael Black (64) and John Morgan (59), after she refused to offer them a double bed at the Swiss Bed & Breakfast in Berkshire in March 2010.
Master of the Rolls Lord Dyson dismissed Mrs Wilkinson’s appeal against the ruling on Tuesday (9th July), but granted permission for the case to be taken to the Supreme Court - the highest court in the land.
He said that the case raised “difficult and controversial questions of moral judgment” that needed to be resolved once and for all.
Policy
Mrs Wilkinson followed a “married couples only” policy regarding bookings for double rooms, meaning that unmarried heterosexual couples were also prohibited from sharing a double bed at the guesthouse.
She insists she is not homophobic and would have offered two single rooms had the guesthouse not been fully booked.
But Reading County Court ruled last year that Mrs Wilkinson had directly discriminated against the couple on the grounds of sexual orientation, and ordered her to pay them £3,600 in compensation.
Reluctantly
Sitting in the Court of Appeal, Lord Dyson said that he “reluctantly” had to uphold the decision of Reading County Court because he was “bound” by the law to follow a previous decision in a similar case.
He said that Mrs Wilkinson had also indirectly discriminated against the couple – a form of discrimination that is justified if it constitutes a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
He held that the “married couples only" policy could not be justified because it was not a “proportionate" means of following one's religious beliefs, since Mrs Wilkinson could have turned the B&B into single rooms without suffering significant financial detriment.
Her case will be heard in the Supreme Court on 9th October alongside that of Christian guesthouse owners, Peter and Hazelmary Bull, who were also sued by a homosexual couple for their married couples only policy for double rooms.
Hope
Mrs Wilkinson said in a statement: "I am disappointed to have lost at this stage, but I am pleased that there is hope for people like me who believe in marriage."
She added: "Surely in our diverse 21st century UK society there is ample room for a variety of lifestyles with many thousands of other B&Bs being willing to accommodate unmarried couples.
"It's sad that cases like this are coming to court in a country that has a great Christian heritage. However, whatever the outcome of my case, my faith is grounded in a sovereign, loving and unchanging God and his eternal plans and purposes."
Read the full judgment of the Court of Appeal here >
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