B&B Ordered to Pay Up for Barring Gay Couple

A gay couple that was banned from a Canadian bed and breakfast will receive about $4,500 for their trouble, the Vancouver Sun reports. Shaun Eadie and Brian Thomas tried to make a reservation at the now-closed River-bed Bed and Breakfast in Grand Forks in July 2009. Initially, owner Susan Molnar took the reservation, but she worried the couple was gay. Her husband called back, confirmed they were gay, and canceled the reservation.

The Molnars argued that they were protected by freedom of religion—they are Christians—and said they simply wanted to keep the couple out of their home, where they hold prayer meetings. But the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal found that the bed and breakfast was separate from the Molnars' living area, meaning that discrimination against the couple was illegal. (More discrimination stories.)