An Illinois state panel says it has found “substantial evidence” that two businesses discriminated against a gay couple looking for a venue for their civil union ceremony.
Mark and Todd Wathen, like many same-sex couples in Illinois, were excited at the prospect of legal recognition when the state passed its civil unions law this winter. The partners, who live in downstate Mattoon, Illinois, began looking for places to hold their civil union ceremony.
They contacted two quaint bed-and-breakfasts in the area: the Beall Mansion in Alton, Illinois, near St. Louis, and the TimberCreek Bed and Breakfast in Paxton. Both, according to the Chicago Sun-Times
As initially printed in The Paxton Record, Jim Walder, co-owner of TimberCreek, apparently responded to the Wathens with a series of backwards-ass, redneck remarks, two of which have been included below for your perusal.
The co-owner of the Timber Creek B&B, Jim Walder, also wrote an e-mail to Wathen citing various biblical verses and denouncing homosexuality as “wrong and unnatural,” adding that “we will never host same-sex weddings even if they become legal in Illinois.”
If that is discrimination, I guess we unfortunately discriminate
Yes you do, Jim. Yes you do.