Meg Munn, a minister in the Department for Communities and Local Government has warned businesses, particularly Muslim or Christian hotels, that if they turn away gay people they face stiff penalties, reports the Telegraph:
“If gays are turned away, the only way a Christian or Muslim guest house owner can lawfully stay in business is if he or she offers single bedrooms to all guests – straight or gay. Miss Munn said a wedding photographer who refused a gay wedding booking should take up portrait photography instead, while a chauffeur who declined to work with homosexuals must specialise in corporate travel.”
While the new legislation has been criticized by some because it forces Muslims and Christians with anti-gay religious beliefs to “conform to the Government's new morality,” others have no sympathy and say they must obey the law.
Said Giles Fraser, the vicar of Putney and a leading Church of England liberal: “It is nonsense for the Government to allow any loopholes for religious homophobia. Bigotry is bigotry whether it's dressed up in the language of faith or not.”
Warning shot for hotels over gay couples [the telegraph]