Listen: Indiana restaurant owner pledges to refuse service to gays
A restaurant owner in Indiana has said he plans to use the state’s new anti-gay law to refuse service to gay people.
The Governor of Indiana, Mike Pence, this week signed into law the controversial ‘Religious Freedom Restoration Act’, which gives people the right to discriminate against gay people on the grounds of religion.
The law has been met with condemnation from gay rights groups, who warn it sets a troubling precedent in allowing anti-gay discrimination.
As the bill becomes law, an anonymous restaurant has already called in to a local radio station to promise to refuse to serve gays.
The restaurant owner, Ryan, called RadioNOW 100.9 to say: “I’m 100 percent behind people’s lifestyles, and what they want to do, but I don’t want them to bring that into my place of business, and make other people that are there feel uncomfortable.
“I grew up Christian, and I believe in man and woman, Adam and Even not Adam and Steve.
“If a couple comes into my restaurant and makes other people leave my place of business, then I’m losing more money from the people leaving than coming in.”
He added that he has already turned away gay people, saying: “I have discriminated, I have said something was broken in the kitchen and said I couldn’t serve them.
“I told them that the fan was broken and they left.”
When challenged to reveal exactly which business he owned, he declined, saying: “I don’t want to say what business I own. I’m not ready to come out with that.”
