The Christian owners of a Cornish bed-and-breakfast have suffered a “campaign of hatred, vilification and intimidation” under the guise of tolerance, a national newspaper columnist has said.Posted on 09/28/2013 5:22:38 PM PDT by annalex
These are two related articles that I post together.
The Christian owners of a Cornish bed-and-breakfast have suffered a “campaign of hatred, vilification and intimidation” under the guise of tolerance, a national newspaper columnist has said.
Peter and Hazelmary Bull have been hit by crushing equality laws and a court case over their "married couples only" policy for double rooms.
Following the legal case, the couple has received death threats and vandalism and has now decided to sell the business—which is also their home.
Writing in the Daily Mail, Richard Littlejohn says some who preach tolerance are actually the “most vile, intolerant bigots imaginable.”
He added that the idea of “‘celebrating diversity’ never extends to those with devout Christian beliefs.”
And while the columnist says he doesn't agree with the Bulls’ policy, Littlejohn strongly criticizes the ordeal they have been subjected to.
He writes that when the case first hit the headlines, he said the couple are “in the wrong line of work.”
“But,” he adds, “that doesn’t excuse the campaign of hatred, vilification and intimidation to which they have been subjected over the past five years.
“They’ve suffered death threats and vandalism, and their website was corrupted with porn.
“Not for the first time it’s obvious that those ‘liberals’ who preach ‘tolerance’ are themselves the most vile, intolerant bigots imaginable.
“Funny how ‘celebrating diversity’ never extends to those with devout Christian beliefs.
“Now a misguided, but sincere, couple of middle-aged hoteliers have had their livelihood stripped from them in the name of ‘tolerance.’”
The Bulls will only allow married couples to share a double bed at their guesthouse because of their Christian beliefs.
Their policy, which applies to heterosexuals and homosexuals alike, has been in place since the business opened and is well advertised.
But as soon as new gay rights laws were introduced in 2007, the government’s tourism board for England struck the Bulls’ B&B off its approved list.
In 2011, the Bulls were successfully sued by gay couple Martyn Hall and Steven Preddy, who won £3,600 (nearly $5,775) in damages.
The U.K. Supreme Court will hear the Bulls’ appeal next month in a case backed by the Christian Institute.
Christians who have been forced out of their bed-and-breakfast business after death threats and vandalism have been told “they’ve brought it on themselves.”
The comment was made by Steven Preddy, one of the gay men that sued B&B owners Peter and Hazelmary Bull.
The Bulls only allow married couples to share a double bed in their B&B near Penzance in Cornwall.
Preddy and his civil partner, Martyn Hall, successfully sued the Bulls and won £3,600 (about $5,775) in damages.
The same-sex couple says it was not their intention to see the couple sell, and Preddy told ITV News that the situation was “unfortunate.”
But because the Bulls “stuck to their guns,” he said: “In some ways, I think they’ve brought it on themselves really.”
Last week it emerged that the Bulls spent the winter “shivering” and sometimes going hungry because of the crushing impact of equality laws, which were introduced in 2007.
Their double-bed policy, which applies to heterosexuals and homosexuals alike, has been in place since the business opened and was well advertised.
The U.K. Supreme Court will hear the Bulls’ appeal next month. They are being supported by the Christian Institute.
On Friday, national newspaper columnist Richard Littlejohn highlighted the Bulls’ situation, saying they had been subjected to a “campaign of hatred, vilification and intimidation.”
He commented, “They’ve suffered death threats and vandalism, and their website was corrupted with porn.
“Not for the first time it’s obvious that those ‘liberals’ who preach ‘tolerance’ are themselves the most vile, intolerant bigots imaginable.”
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Yeah... well... SSDD, as they say in this Brave New World of ours.
What’s that?
Same Shiite, Different Day.
IOW - this is the New Normal. Not saying it’s right. Not saying I don’t have sympathy. Just saying.
ping
No kidding, huh?
Yes, this is the new normal. Coming soon to America.
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