http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25119158

interesting situation

Is this a case of political correctness gone mad?

or do homosexuals automatically have the gawd-given right to be catered to even if the hotel owner thinks different?

That's been going on for months. Discrimination on the basis of race, colour or sexual orientation is illegal in the UK, snd that's why they were prosecuted, they aren't the first, but they should be the last hotel to discriminate as there is now a supreme court ruling that it is illegal to discriminate

i see the point but it is their hotel after all isn't it?

the gay couple could have picked another place to stay surely when they were not welcomed?

who wants to stay at a hotel when one is told one is persona non grata?

bottom line here is this: which rights should predominate?

It's discrimination.

Would those who think it's daft say the same if a black couple were rebuffed ?

But my question is this: is it really discrimination?

the hotel owners have certain beliefs and values?

so under these circumstances whose rights should predominate?

seems to me to be a grey area and not that not clear cut

The hotel is open to the public to book, if you book a double room, and then two womwn turned up, then I bet they wouldn't have rejected them, but because it was two men, then they were told, sorry we can't honour your booking. Most people when booking a hotel room just ring up and ask to book a double room, they don't feel they have to say they are two men, or two women, or a mixed gender couple.
Discrimination is illegal, end of, and they were rightly taken to court, and have rightly lost.

There were perhaps a number of gay couple who had been turned away before, but had just accepted it, this couple felt it was worth making a stand about, and I fully agree with them.

Their beliefs in imaginary friends in the sky is not law, discrimination is. As Mike put it, end of.

No, it's not a grey area, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is ILLEGAL in the UK, doesn't matter what the orgaanisation is. A few years ago I was PRO for the British Naturism organisation, and we had a number of clubs who were members who were deiscriminating against single people and gay people, they were told if they wanted to continue as members and keep the advantages that gave them, then they had to change their rules. It came about because one club had turned away a gay couple, and were being taken to court, they wanted the organisation to provide legal aid for the club, we refused quoting the discrimination laws, and told asll clubs they had to change their rules, and they did.

Just curious...of all the races, why did you pick Black? How about Oriental, Asian, Amazonian et al

It's all relative

Montreal Mike.....you said this "i see the point but it is their hotel after all isn't it?". Am guessing you have kids, brothers and sisters? If what you are saying is, and am assuming here? That in this day and age bigotry has a place?

What would you do if you son/daughter/brother/sister starts dating or marries someone that looks different?

It's not relative at all. If you operate an hotel you cannot discriminate against guests based on race or sexual orientation. There's no sliding scale allowing the banning of this combination of races and only mildly brusque treatment of people of some other race or race(s).

well I tell yer if I had a hotel/BB and needed the business for sure as hell would never discriminate against any paying customers - on second thoughts maybe chavs or those blathered out of their minds footy hooligans.

Then you have to look at the other side - would a gay run hotel discriminate against straight couples & in doing so would the straights scream bloody murder

Errrm....that was for Tangram.

This coming from someone that made bigot comments about "Asian students" going to the U of T?

I will bloody well hope not...do you think Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Nike et al....bother about the colour of the people making them money? Heck look at the premiership, you are in business to make wonga, and as long as that wonga keeps rolling in, who cares who your customers are?

I think you will find that a Gay person is more tolerant in their business that the straight person.

All they had to do was say they were full, or there'd been a double booking.... some people seem to invite trouble into thier lives!

It was an example, that is all.