There is hope for Christian-owned bed and breakfasts that restrict double rooms to married couples only, following a Court of Appeal ruling issued in July.
Although the B&B at the centre of the case, owned by Susanne Wilkinson, lost its appeal, the court said its marriage policy should not be regarded as ‘direct discrimination’ against same-sex couples. The Master of the Rolls, Lord Dyson, said in his ruling that he would prefer to treat such a policy as indirect discrimination, which can be lawful if the policy is justified. But he said he ‘reluctantly’ had to follow a previous ruling in a similar case which held the policy to be direct discrimination, which does not allow for any justification.
The court acknowledged that religious rights are of equal importance to sexual orientation rights. However, in this case, the court said that Mrs. Wilkinson’s policy would not be justified because she could convert her B&B to single bed accommodation without it having a fatal economic impact on her.
