Mr and Mrs Bull's Christian guest house in Cornwall ... lest we forget

Mr and Mrs Bull's Christian guest house in Cornwall   ...  lest we forget​

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Peter and Hazelmary Bull outside Chymorvah House in Marazion, Cornwall.

This case represents one of the most worrying miscarriages of justice in recent times. Let us remind ourselves:

Mr and Mrs Bull are a Christian couple and ran a guest house in Cornwall. The guesthouse had been run in accordance with their interpretation of Christianity which holds that homosexuality is a “sin”. They did not therefore allow a same sex civil couple, Steven Preddy and Martyn Hall to share a double bed. Married heterosexual couples were however hosted in double bedrooms.

Mr Preddy and Mr Hall then sued Mr and Mrs Bull claiming unlawful discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation.

The Bulls claimed the defence of religious belief and denied either direct or indirect discrimination.

A learned judge in Bristol County Court did not agree and found the Bulls guilty of discrimination.’

The Bulls appealed to the Court of Appeal. In rejecting the appeal Lady Justice Rafferty stated that a homosexual couple “cannot comply with the restriction because each party is of the same sex and therefore cannot marry”. She continued saying “the criterion at the heart of the restriction, that the couple should be married, is necessarily linked to the characteristic of a heterosexual orientation.”‘

The Bulls were recently given leave to appeal to the Supreme Court although no date has been set.

This case will no doubt be followed closely by not just legal academics, politicians and the media but the general public as the outcome could have far reaching implications. The judgment will also be an interesting take on the mood of the country on a subject which has seen unprecedented gains for gay rights.

I think I myself have a legal solution for the Bulls if this Supreme Court decision goes against them. Why not have an invitation only guesthouse? Prospective guests could be asked to fill in a questionnaire and on the basis of this an invitation could be extended or not. This I believe could be the way to neatly sidestep the very unfair legal conundrum.