Christians who have been forced out of their bed-and-breakfast business after death threats and vandalism have been told “they’ve brought it on themselves.”
The comment was made by Steven Preddy, one of the gay men that sued B&B owners Peter and Hazelmary Bull.
The Bulls only allow married couples to share a double bed in their B&B near Penzance in Cornwall.
Preddy and his civil partner, Martyn Hall, successfully sued the Bulls and won £3,600 (about $5,775) in damages.
The same-sex couple says it was not their intention to see the couple sell, and Preddy told ITV News that the situation was “unfortunate.”
But because the Bulls “stuck to their guns,” he said: “In some ways, I think they’ve brought it on themselves really.”
Last week it emerged that the Bulls spent the winter “shivering” and sometimes going hungry because of the crushing impact of equality laws, which were introduced in 2007.
Their double-bed policy, which applies to heterosexuals and homosexuals alike, has been in place since the business opened and was well advertised.
The U.K. Supreme Court will hear the Bulls’ appeal next month. They are being supported by the Christian Institute.
On Friday, national newspaper columnist Richard Littlejohn highlighted the Bulls’ situation, saying they had been subjected to a “campaign of hatred, vilification and intimidation.”
He commented, “They’ve suffered death threats and vandalism, and their website was corrupted with porn.
“Not for the first time it’s obvious that those ‘liberals’ who preach ‘tolerance’ are themselves the most vile, intolerant bigots imaginable.”
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