ILLINOIS: Complaints Filed Against Two Inns For Refusing Civil Union Events

Windy City Times reports that formal complaints have been lodged against two Illinois bed-and-breakfast inns for refusing to host civil union ceremonies.

Todd and Mark Wathen of Mattoon, Ill., allege that both the Timber Creek Bed and Breakfast and Beall Mansion Bed and Breakfast discriminated against them by refusing to host their legally recognized ceremony. The Wathen's attorneys—Betty Tsamis of Chicago, and John Knight and Harvey Grossman of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois—announced the filing Nov. 2 in a news release. In August, the Department of Human Rights announced it had found "substantial evidence" supporting their claims and gave the couple three months to file complaints. According to the complaints, filed individually on behalf of both Mark and Todd, the Wathens inquired with the inns in February, in anticipation of having a ceremony when civil unions went into effect in June. Both of the inns turned them away, they said.

The couple is requesting monetary damages and an end to the discriminatory practices.

RELATED: NOM's blog commenters weigh in.

-"So much for religious freedoms in the US. We now have Lords and Ladies."
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