A retired Christian couple in Canada who refused to allow a same-sex couple to share a bed in their B&B are to appear before a human rights tribunal.
Lee and Susan Molnar have been running the Riverbend B&B in Grand Forks, British Columbia, since 2002.
The Molnars’ plight echoes similar disputes in the UK where homosexuals have taken legal action against B&Bs.
Refused
Last June the Molnars refused to allow a same-sex couple to share a bed in their home leading to a complaint being filed with the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal.
The Molnars were due to appear before tribunal last week, but the case was postponed after the homosexual couple’s lawyer fell ill.
The Molnars closed their business for fear of another human rights complaint, Ron Smith, their lawyer said.
Firestorm
Mr Smith added: “They’re just a retired couple in Grand Forks who thought they would open their home to guests and here they are in the centre of a firestorm”.
“They’re a lovely couple. They don’t want to be thought of as discriminating, but they’re Christians who don’t feel they can violate their religious beliefs”, he continued.
The Molnars had previously attempted to get the complaint against them dismissed, but their application was rejected earlier this year.
Pleaded
Mr Molnar had pleaded for the case to be dropped, warning that “to allow a gay couple to share a bed in my Christian home would violate my Christian beliefs and would cause me and my wife great distress.”
Earlier this year Mike and Susanne Wilkinson, who run the Swiss B&B in Berkshire, were caught in a media frenzy after they refused to allow a homosexual couple to share a double bed.
They turned the same-sex couple away because it was against their convictions to let them share a double room in their home.
Sued
The Wilkinsons, who would have offered the homosexual couple separate single rooms if they were available, are now being sued.
And two Christian B&B owners from Cornwall are currently being sued over the same issue.
Peter and Hazelmary Bull have had a policy of only offering married couples double rooms since they bought the guesthouse in 1986.
The couple are being sued for refusing to allow a homosexual couple to stay in a double room.