CIVIL RIGHTS
Wedding Venue Rejects Gay, Interracial Couples
Mississippi business justifi es bigotry with religion; apology goes only part of the way
BY MATT TRACY
A wedding venue in Mississippi
has exposed
itself as a hotbed of homophobia
and racism
after an employee told an inquiring
customer that same-sex or interracial
couples couldn’t get married
there.
Their excuse? Religion.
LaKambria Welch was helping
her brother, who is black, and his
fi ancée, who is white, with their
wedding plans in Booneville, Mississippi,
when, she said, the venue,
Boone’s Camp Event Hall, informed
her it would not be able to
host the couple’s wedding “because
of the venue’s beliefs.”
Welch then drove to Boone’s
Camp Event Hall to ask about that
in person — and she video-recorded
the interaction .
“First of all, we don’t do gay weddings
or mixed race, because of
our Christian race — I mean, our
Christian belief,” an employee in
the video, who was not identifi ed,
said.
When Welch informed the employee
that she and her family are
also Christians, the employee replied,
“Yes, ma’am.”
Welch proceeded to ask the employee
where in the Bible it says to
reject customers in discriminatory
ways. The employee cut her off,
saying, “Well, I don’t want to argue
my faith.”
“We just don’t participate… we
just choose not to,” the employee
added.
As it turns out, Welch’s brother
and his fi ancé are not the only victims
of the venue’s twisted rules.
Katelynn Springsteen, who sought
Boone Camp Event Hall’s services
last year for a same-sex wedding
ceremony, posted screenshots of a
text conversation she had with the
venue.
“Are you okay with it being a gay
marriage ceremony?” she asked.
The venue replied, “Thanks for
checking with us Katelynn, but due
to our Christian faith we would not
be able to accommodate you.”
David and Donna Russell are
Boone’s Camp Event Hall, pictured above, has, to date, banned gay weddings and interracial weddings
— and has now apologized, but only for its racist policy.
A screen shot of LaKambria Welch’s interaction with an employee of Boone’s Camp Event Hall when the
venue denied wedding services to Welch’s brother, who is African-American, and his white fi ancée.
listed as owners of the business
on the Mississippi Secretary of
State’s website. After Welch’s video
went viral and picked up millions
of views in a matter of days, Boone
Camp Event Hall’s Facebook page
was pulled down — but not before
somebody, presumably Donna
Russell — used the page to explain
that the policy banning biracial
marriage ceremonies is rooted
in her childhood, according to
screenshot captured by Facebook
user Whitney Turner and reported
by DeepSouth
“As a child growing up in Mississippi,
our racial boundaries that
were unstated were that of staying
with your own race,” she wrote.
“This was never verbally spoken,
but it was an understood subject.”
Russell then rambled on about
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DEEP SOUTH VOICE
discussions she has had with her
husband and their pastor regarding
the Bible’s “content concerning
biracial relationships,” saying
that she thought for a moment and
realized that she was “unable to
recall instances where the Bible
was used giving a verse that would
support my decision.”
Finally, she admitted, she came
“to the conclusion my decision
which was based on what I had
thought was correct to be supported
by The Bible was incorrect!”
“To all those offended, hurt or
felt condemn sic by my statement
I truly apologize to you for my ignorance
in not knowing the truth
about this,” the post noted.
No apologies were made to samesex
couples for that discriminatory
policy and there is no indication
that the Russells have changed her
mind about their rule banning gay
weddings.
The public outcry prompted a response
from city offi cials in Booneville,
which is in the northeastern
corner of the state and, as of the
2010 census, had a population of
nearly 9,000 people.
“The City of Booneville, Mayor,
and Board of Aldermen are aware
of the comments recently made by
a privately owned business located
within the city of Booneville,” the
city stated in a Facebook post.
“The City of Booneville, Mayor, and
Board of Aldermen do not discriminate
on the basis of race, religion,
gender, age, national origin, disability,
marital status, sexual orientation,
or military status. Furthermore,
the City of Booneville,
Mayor, and Board of Aldermen do
not condone or approve these types
of discriminatory policies.”
It is not clear whether the business
will face legal consequences,
but the 1964 Civil Rights Act
bans discrimination on the basis
of race in public accommodations.
That law, however, does not protect
same-sex couples — the Supreme
Court will hear cases about that
issue next month — and queer
folks in the state are currently
subjected to a 2016 religious freedom
bill giving people and businesses
the right to reject service to
LGBTQ people on the basis of their
religious beliefs.
The Supreme Court offered an
inconclusive ruling in a related
case in Masterpiece Cakeshop v.
Colorado Civil Rights Commission ,
which involved a baker who refused
to bake a weddomg cake for
a same-sex couple.
The baker claimed that his religious
beliefs and freedom of
speech gave him the right to refuse
service in defi ance of the state’s
nondiscrimination law, but that
arguments was sidestepped in the
court’s opinion, which found the
Colorado Civil Rights Commission
had not been not neutral in considering
his eligious freedom claims.
Attempts to reach Boone’s Camp
Event Hall were unsuccessful.
September 12 - September 25, 2 20 019 | GayCityNews.com
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