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You can’t marry here–we’re religious, gay couple told
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A GAY couple in East London are furious with the owners of a wedding venue who turned the lovebirds away for “religious” reasons.
Carole van der Berg and Helen Ross were hoping to tie the knot this year after being together for 13 years. They eventually settled on the Country Style Catering and Venue near Cove Rock outside East London for the special occasion.
“The lady said I was in luck because there were cancellations on the date I was proposing and I immediately wanted to see the venue,” said Van der Berg.
Overjoyed by the pending marriage, Van der Berg and Ross went to view the venue, where they were warmly greeted by the owner and made to feel comfortable.
“I was up front about our homosexuality and the lady did not seem to have a problem,” said Van der Berg.
The couple said they discussed the menus and other arrangements, only to be informed later they could not use the venue because the owners’ religious beliefs forbade same- sex marriages.
“For the past 13 years I have been with my soul mate, I have never been discriminated against or been judged as they did to us,” said Van der Berg.
The owner of the venue, Colleen Horrmann, said they were forced to turn down the couple’s request because they were members of Jehovah Witness.
“I like them very much and I have nothing against them but we do not condone same- sex marriages,” said Horrmann.
She said the couple should understand that it was not as if they did not want them to get married – it was a case of not at their venue. “They are making a big thing out of nothing,” said Horrmann.
But constitutional law expert Professor Pierre de Vos, of the University of Western Cape, disagreed.
“The couple can go to the Equality Court to challenge this and the court can order the owners to change their policy,” said De Vos.
He said when providing services like a restaurant, hotel or other venue, owners could not discriminate against others on the basis of their race, sex and sexual orientation, irrespective of their personal convictions. - By XOLISA MGWATYU
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