Second gay couple turned away from Scottish hotel
A second gay couple have come forward to report that they were turned away from the Loch Lomond Waterfront hotel.
Couple Greig and John have shared the email they received from hotel owner Charles Cottam telling them “we must, in all conscience, tell you why we prefer not to host civil partnership weddings”.
The Daily Record reports that the email said: ” All of these required a great deal of input and personal commitment from my wife and I to give clients the exceptional experience they have every right to expect. So it would be wrong to keep from you and your family our deeply-held religious beliefs and our sincere adherence to the traditional view of marriage.
“This is why we would prefer not to host a civil partnership wedding. If you want to use our lodges as accommodation for a ceremony nearby we would be pleased to help if we can. We wish you well for the future and hope you will soon find a suitable venue.”
The Glasgow couple wrote back to clarify they were planning a marriage ceremony, and not a civil partnership, but received no reply.
On Wednesday, we reported that Stephen and John Devaney were turned away from the venue after being told “We can’t allow people like you here.” The hotel denies they said this to the couple, but did not comment on whether they had turned the couple away. The hotel owners claim they have been subject to abuse and threats.
Former Holby City actor David Paisley tweeted a review of the hotel from 2010 which said: “All I can tell you about the Water Front is that they don’t do Civil Partnerships … (and maybe not Civil anything) … the emails from them were officious if nothing else!”
so @pinknews I discovered the #lochlomondwaterfront have form for not welcoming gay couples, see this post from 2010 https://t.co/6QZKUnPkdw
— David Paisley (@DavidPaisley) February 25, 2015
The statement on the hotel’s website reads: “Suzanne Cottam did not say the words attributed to her, nor would she do so because of her Christian faith and her belief in the dignity of all people.
“Due to the hysterical nature of the reporting, we have been inundated with foul, abusive and sometimes threatening messages. We urge the press to exercise caution in repeating the false claims being made about us.”
