A Bristol County Court has ruled that hotel owners who did not allow a gay couple to share a double room as they do not believe in sex before marriage, acted unlawfully. The ruling is one of the first made under the UK Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 and is expected to afford those in civil partnerships greater protection from discrimination.
The hotel owners contested that their refusal to accommodate civil partners in a double room had "nothing to do with sexual orientation and everything to do with sex", with the restriction applying equally to unmarried heterosexual couples.
However Judge Andrew Rutherford found that the hotel had directly discriminated against the couple on the grounds of their sexual orientation. The case was funded and supported by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Legal Director of the EHRC, Mr John Wadham noted "When Mr and Mrs Bull chose to open their home as a hotel their private home became a commercial enterprise. This decision means that community standards, not private ones, must be upheld".
Please click here to view the EHRC press release.
The decision comes amidst an active legal period for same-sex couples' rights.