‘Heterosexual friendly’ B&B calls the police after enquiry from PinkNews
A B&B that describes its services as āheterosexual friendlyā has called the police ā after PinkNews asked for clarification of its policies.
The Cromasaig B&B, which is based in the Scottish highlands, advertises itself using the term on its website.
It states that ā1 Man + 1 Woman = Marriageā, and clarifies it is a āFamily and Heterosexual Friendly B&Bā.
After a reader contacted PinkNews alleging that Cromasaig turned away people who are gay, PinkNews asked the B&B owners to clarify their policy.
It is a violation of the UK-wide Equality Act to deny service on the basis of sexual orientation, but B&B owner Tom Forrest told PinkNews the policy āmeans precisely what it saysā.
However, after being contacted by PinkNews, Mr Forrest called in the police and the local press alleging harassment from āgay activistsā.
He told the Scottish Herald: āWe received emails from same-sex couples looking for double rooms.
āWe didnāt have anything available on the dates that some couples were looking for and thatās the truth.
āOne man got back to me and said I had to provide him with my availability for the next three months. Thatās just ridiculous. He was just being a nuisance.
āSince then we have been bombarded by offensive emails.ā
He added: āYet again, weāre being attacked by these people because we state weāre heterosexual friendly. I have asked the police for advice on how to handle this.ā
PinkNews found negative reviews of the B&B dating back many years on Tripadvisor, with one complaining: āI was asked the name of my husband and dog. In my reply I advised I was coming with my civil partner (wife) and that we were married 4 years.
āI then received an email telling me to refrain from calling my partner my wife and that marriage was only between man and woman.ā
Another states: āWhilst we were welcomed as a hetrosexual, married couple I was shocked to find an āanti-gay b&bā cartoon placed in a frame alongside the breakfast cereal!
āI felt very uncomfortable at these so blatently promoted views, and illegal discrimination in place at this establishment.ā
A spokesperson for Police Scotland confirmed they had given āadviceā in relation to emails.
Mr Forrest has previously claimed he would turn away gay couples.
He told STV in 2010: āI will refuse point blank to allow them to share a double bed. I do not approve of the homosexual act and any act of intercourse should be between a man and a woman. Itās nothing to do with the bible, itās to do with nature.
āWeāre not running a business for corporate guests. We have people into our house, we have dinner with them, we learn about each other. Many become friends.
āIndeed, there are homosexual people who have become friends, who say they would not insult us by insisting on sharing a bed in our house and come in support of what we have done.
āI feel itās about time that people decided to live and let live. What you want to do under your own roof is your own business. What I want to happen under my own roof should also be my business.ā
A long-running court case surrounding a Christian B&B wrapped up last year.
Civil partners Martin Hall and Steven Preddy, from Bristol, were turned away from the Chymorvah Hotel near Penzance in 2008 under the ownersā policy of not allowing unmarried couples to share rooms.
Judges twice ruled that Peter and Hazelmary Bull broke equality laws in the running of their business.
It was ruled that the Bullsā behaviour amounted to direct discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, and awarded a total of Ā£3,600 damages to Mr Hall and Mr Preddy.
The Bulls appealed to the Supreme Court with the help of anti-LGBT Christian charities ā but again lost out.
