ILLINOIS: Bed & Breakfasts Turn Away Gay Couple's Civil Union Ceremony

Two Illinois bed and breakfast hotels have turned away a gay couple's request to hold their civil unions ceremony, with one lodging manager emailing the couple to tell them to repent.

"We will never host same-sex civil unions. We will never host same-sex weddings even if they become legal in Illinois," Timber Creek operators told [Todd] Wathen in an e-mail. “We believe homosexuality is wrong and unnatural based on what the Bible says about it. If that is discrimination, I guess we unfortunately discriminate." When informed of Illinois's new civil unions law, Jim Walder of Timber Creek replied, “The Bible does not state opinions, but facts. It contains the highest laws pertinent to man. It trumps Illinois law, United States law, and global law should there ever be any.” Walder later sent an unsolicited e-mail of Bible passages to Wathen. He wrote, “Hi Todd, I know you may not want to hear this, but I thought I would send along a couple of verses in Romans 1 detailing how the Creator of the Universe looks at the gay lifestyle. It’s not to late to change your behavior.”

The couple has filed complaints with the state, which bans lodging discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In response, David Smith of the (SPLC-certified hate group) Illinois Family Institute has issued a bizarre demand that Gov. Pat Quinn and President Obama apologize for their support of LGBT rights. According to Smith, the owners of Timber Creek have received "poisonous, hate-filled letters and phone calls from leftists who demand that we accept their life choices." Timber Creek's website presently notes that it is an "upscale Christian" business.