Vermont Inn Reaches Settlement With ACLU, Lesbian Couple Over Suit

Christian Post ^ | 08/25/2012 | By Michael Gryboski

[SeekAndFind]

A bed-and-breakfast in Vermont has reached a settlement with a lesbian couple over the business owners' opposition to holding a same-sex wedding ceremony on the business' property.

According to a settlement reached on Thursday, the Wildflower Inn of Lyndonville agreed to pay a fine of $10,000 to the Vermont Human Rights Commission and $20,000 to a charitable trust created by the lesbian couple.

In return, the VHRC and both parties acknowledge that the Wildflower Inn acted "in good faith" regarding their reliance on a 2005 case and no further legal action will be taken against the Inn.

"The Wildflower Inn has always served – and will continue to serve – everyone in our community. But no one can force us to abandon our deeply held beliefs about marriage," said Wildflower Inn owner Jim O'Reilly in a statement.

"Our beliefs haven't changed, but we do have lives to live, a family to love, a business to grow, and a community to serve."

The Alliance Defending Freedom, formerly known as the Alliance Defense Fund, represented the inn during the legal proceedings.

[albie]

You couldn’t pay me enough to live/work/or anything else in VT. It is completely taken over by the left and is useless.

[lgjhn23]

Reeks of the Jesse Jackson “strong arm” exploitations technique....stinks like an outhouse.

[Captain Rhino]

Though it is unmentioned in this article, in addition to the cash payments, didn’t the inn also agree to stop hosting any wedding-related events entirely as part of the settlement?

[gunsequalfreedom]

Classic case of deciding a settlement is the best business decision.

[Gay State Conservative]

In future,when normal couples book an event the facility should strive to do an excellent job.When perverts book,they should make sure that it's a terrible event.And when the perverts demand a refund give them one,minus food and drink consumed,etc.

[GeronL]

sad day in this country

[Unam Sanctam]

A the “Human Rights” scam, where they shake you down for money while eliminating your human rights. I thought it only happened in Canada. How sad this madness is spreading south of the border. And there should be a first amendment constitutional issue here. I hope the lawyer brought that up.

[Old Sarge]

And the shakedown continues.

Someone tell me again that the Mercun Peepul are fed up with the homosexuals? Doesn’t look like it.

[Rebelbase]

Pink Mafia extortion.

[TigerClaws]

Bible deemed “hate speech” in Canada:

http://catholiceducation.org/articles/persecution/pch0080.html

[txrefugee]

Too bad the Founders didn’t include a mechanism for kicking out states like Vermont who are un-American to the core.

[Pollster1]

This lesbian “couple” disgusts me, but not as much as the fact that our government would side with predatory evil over our God-given and constitutionally protected human rights. I hope they will not be able to use the $30,000 they stole to do even more harm to decent Americans. Tomorrow, I’ll have a chicken sandwich and waffle fries in honor of the Inn.

[vetvetdoug]

Gays relish in destroying the businesses of normal people.

[Joe Boucher]

My son built an airplane for a paraplegic who was a professional sue artist.
If yur aisles weren’t just so, if your toilet room wasn’t just right whatever he’d sue, get a settlement then the bid ness had to spend more money to conform.

[SECURE AMERICA]

Would never happen.
I would shut my business down before I would do anything to promote perverts. I would never agree to or accept a settlement and and would never, let me repeat that, NEVER pay a couple of perverts any money for any reason.

[detective]

This is simply a $30,000 shakedown of sincere Christians by homosexuals and their supporters. This is America in the Obama Era. Honest Christians will be targets of harassment and extortion. People of Faith have a target on their backs. Homosexuals, leftists and other special interest groups will be allowed to take whatever they want and never face any consequences.

Our great country is being slowly destroyed.

[DemforBush]

Kinda figured it would end up like this. Gays are a “protected class” under the laws in Vermont, and the business owner here didn’t have much option other than to settle. I guarantee you if he had tried to continue to fight it, he would have wound up spending his last penny fighting the unlimited resources of the state of Vermont, and lost anyway.

I’m not saying I agree with how this worked out (I do not), much less the shakedown money (yeah, I’m betting that 20 grand really ends up going to charity). Just sayin’ the deck was stacked heavily against the owner from day one.

[bgill]

When will business owners learn to keep their mouths shut about sex/religion/race/or whatever they’re opposed to? Simple enough to say they’re already booked that day or they’re closed for renovations.

[Secret Agent Man]

Those checks would bounce so high if I had to pay them.