Vermont inn sued by ACLU after refusing lesbian ‘wedding’ reception
Image via Wikipedia The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced Tuesday that they are suing a Vermont inn on behalf of a lesbian couple, after the inn’s Christian owners refused to host the couple’s ‘wedding’ reception. The Wildflower Inn in Lyndonville , owned by Jim and Mary O’Reilly, has a policy against hosting receptions for homosexual ‘weddings’, so when Kate Baker and Ming Linsley of New York City approached them last fall, they were turned away. The ACLU alleges that the O’Reillys’ policy violates Vermont’s Fair Housing and Public Accommodations Act, which prohibits the denial of goods and services based on customers’ sexual orientation. The act contains exceptions for religious organizations and small inns with five or fewer rooms, but not larger establishments. Nevertheless, the O’Reillys, who are devout Catholics , have stood their ground. “We do not … feel that we can offer our personal services wholeheartedly to celebrate the marriage between same...