Couple Sues a Vermont Inn for Rejecting Gay Wedding

BOSTON — A lesbian couple is suing a Vermont inn, claiming it refused to host their fall wedding reception because of their sexual orientation.

Kate Baker and Ming Linsley filed the suit on Tuesday in Vermont Superior Court, accusing the Wildflower Inn of Lyndonville of abruptly turning them away after learning they are lesbians.

They claim the inn violated Vermont’s Fair Housing and Public Accommodations Act, which prohibits inns, hotels, motels and other establishments with five or more rooms from turning away patrons based on sexual orientation. The law makes an exemption for religious organizations.

Twenty-one other states and the District of Columbia have similar laws. Greg Johnson, a law professor at Vermont Law School, said the suit could set a precedent as more states legalize same-sex marriage. Currently, same-sex marriage is legal in six states and the District of Columbia, all of which protect gay men and lesbians in their public-accommodations laws.

“I think this case could set an important precedent not only for Vermont but for other states with marriage equality,” Professor Johnson said, noting that lawsuits like this are rare.

In 2008, the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights ruled that the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, a Methodist group, violated the state’s fair-accommodation law by refusing to allow a lesbian couple to hold a civil union ceremony on its beachfront pavilion.

The current lawsuit alleges that in October Ms. Linsley’s mother, Channie Peters, spoke with the events coordinator at the inn, which has 24 rooms and is on 570 acres in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, according to its Web site.

Ms. Peters said the coordinator referred to a bride and a groom while discussing the bridal suite; Ms. Peters said she corrected the woman and they continued their conversation.

Shortly after the conversation, Ms. Peters received an e-mail with the subject line “bad news,” according to the lawsuit, and was told the innkeepers did not allow same-sex wedding receptions at the site.

“After our conversation,” the e-mail reads, according to the lawsuit, “I checked with my innkeepers and unfortunately due to their personal feelings, they do not host gay receptions at our facility.”

An employee at the Wildflower Inn said the innkeepers, Jim and Mary O’Reilly, were “not doing any comment at this time.”

The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, claims the inn turned away at least two other same-sex couples.

“I was just incredulous,” Ms. Peters said. “It was a real punch because it was the first place and it was scary because am I going to run into this in every place I call?”

In a statement, Vermont’s commissioner of tourism and marketing, Megan Smith, said that she did not know details of the case but that the state welcomed “L.G.B.T. travelers with open arms.” The Vermont Convention Bureau put Ms. Peters in touch with the Wildflower Inn.

Ms. Baker, 31, and Ms. Linsley, 34, said they were crushed.

“I just felt stunned,” Ms. Baker said. “And it wasn’t until a little while later that I started feeling more angry about it.”

Two months later, Ms. Baker said she was still “feeling lousy” about what happened and wondered whether what happened was illegal.

“We were thinking we might not have only a right but a duty to speak up about it,” Ms. Baker said. “It wasn’t just about us. It was preventing other people from having the same negative experience around what should be such a positive life marker.”

Ms. Linsley said she and Ms. Baker do not typically sign petitions or protest, but wanted to do something. They found another site in Vermont and are planning their fall wedding.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/us/20vermont.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=lesbian&st=cse

Festival of Rights LGBT Groups Talk Rise in AIDS and Legal Victories

More than 5,000 people turned out to support Santa Barbara’s LGBT community last Saturday for the annual Pacific Pride Festival. The event at Leadbetter Beach was part of a five-day citywide celebration hosted by the Pacific Pride Foundation, which is the largest LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) organization between San Francisco and Los Angeles that offers services to HIV/AIDS patients. The foundation was joined by a host of other LGBT advocacy groups including Santa Maria’s GRACE (Gay Rights Activists for Change & Equality), as well as members of the First Congregational and Unitarian churches, there to demonstrate that many communities of faith embrace gays and lesbians.

The event marks a moment when a number of California LGBT foundations are struggling to provide aid and support. Pacific Pride lost $750,000 in state money two years ago when Governor Schwarzenegger eliminated AIDS funding for small and mid-size counties. “It really decimated our budgets,” said David Selberg, executive director of Pacific Pride. “I had to lay off half our staff.” Before the cuts, Santa Barbara County averaged two new AIDSinfections a year. In the last four months alone, the foundation has seen 12 new infections. “These are young people, these are two pregnant women, these are UCSB students—these aren’t just [LGBT community members],” said Selberg. Pacific Pride’s nurses and social workers are paid with donor dollars. Other organizations haven’t been as lucky attracting outside help. Selberg pointed to the Ventura County Rainbow Alliance, which is closing its doors at the end of this month due to lack of funding.

Despite the budget crunch, LGBT communities across the country recently celebrated a number of legal victories: The approval of civil unions in Rhode Island, same-sex marriage in New York, and a UN resolution endorsing LGBT rights. Just last week, a federal appeals court ordered the Defense Department to stop enforcing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Still, only six states currently allow same-sex marriage. California’s Proposition 8, eliminating gay marriage, remains embroiled in legal challenges. Passed in 2008, the bill was struck down by a federal district court and now drifts in limbo.

Selberg spoke about the need for more youth outreach to make communities as a whole more accepting of LGBTindividuals. As the trial of Brandon McInerney unfolds in nearby Ventura County—McInerney allegedly shot and killed a transgender classmate during school—the notion that Santa Barbara is ahead of the curve, said Selberg, understates the real animosity that many people in the area still feel. “I can’t tell you the number of kids in our youth groups who get bullied or bashed,” said Selberg, who receives angry phone calls and hate mail on a regular basis.

Pacific Pride works with teachers and high schools to improve support systems for LGBT students, but Selberg believes that even with available counselors, the lack of dialogue within public schools only undermines their efforts. “Teachers want to talk about our movement with other movements. They just don’t have language for it,” Selberg said, referring to a bill passed by the California State Assembly last week. If signed by the governor, it would require schools to include American LGBT contributions in history textbooks. “I think if it’s in a textbook, and they’re able to have a discussion about Harvey Milk or the Stonewall [riots], it facilitates that conversation,” said Selberg.

The foundation is also training law enforcement, an area of support Selberg said is sorely lacking. “Oftentimes we’re afraid to approach law enforcement. And so bullying and hate crimes are grossly underreported in our community,” he said. Many victims of hate crimes come to Selberg or Pacific Pride Foundation personally but do not want to report incidents to the authorities. With the help of a gay officer and volunteer, the foundation recently held a workshop with the police department with the hope of improving the way officers reach out to the community.

Similarly, Selberg emphasized the need for the gay community to assert itself in a positive way. “It’s the old Harvey Milk thing. If we all came out, this issue would be over,” he explained. “And those that are most fearful of us need to meet us, get to know us. We’re not scary people. We don’t want special rights, we don’t want separate but equal rights, we just want the same rights. It’s pretty basic.”

http://independent.com/news/2011/jul/13/festival-rights/