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Gay couple refused entry to B&B |
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Visit Britain, the UK's national tourist body, is set to lobby the government over discrimination against gay people.
The organisation said it will add to the pressure on the government to
update legislation and protect lesbian and gay people from unequal
treatment in the goods and services sector.
The move comes as the body criticised a B&B in Devon that refused to allow a gay couple to stay because of their sexuality.
Currently, providers of public and private services, including hotels,
restaurants and shops, are not falling foul of the law if they ban
lesbian and gay people.
Legislation protecting other minority groups is already in existence
and, although the government has promised to look into the issue, it is
yet to introduce new laws.
A spokesperson for Visit Britain said it is in the process of
tightening up its ‘code of conduct' to ensure any partners it works
with are aware of its stance on discrimination.
"We have to follow legislation, but we will evolve with legislation," Bernard Donoghue told GAY.COM today.
He said that despite advising service providers on how to make lesbian
and gay tourists feel as comfortable as possible, the tourist board had
difficulty since there was no legal protection.
"We can encourage and advise till we're blue in the face, but
unfortunately we need more action on a legal level," Mr Donoghue said.
"We still occasionally fall back on the problem there is now
legislation in the placed," he said, adding that discrimination was
still relatively rare.
"We're pressing government for legal changes."
Donoghue was speaking after a B&B in Devon reportedly refused to
allow a gay couple from Basingstoke to stay in the lodgings.
David Allard and his partner Bryn Hughes told the local press that they
were told by the B&B owner that he "won't have two men sharing a
bed".
After receiving a complaint, Visit Britain's Head of Equality visited the providers and questioned them.
Mr Donoghue says the incident has spurred the tourist body on to create a tighter "code of conduct".
"We will be explicit about not condoning any discrimination," he said.
"They have a legal right to turn away anyone from their private
property, but we want to make sure anyone we market to feels as
accepted as possible."
Gay campaigners are calling on the government to offer more protection
in the goods and services sector, with many seeing the lack of legal
protection as one of the last legal changes needed on the road to
equality.
Source: gay.com
Friday 16 September, 2005
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