Painter in Bristol ‘refused to work on a gay couple’s house because of her Christian faith after she realised their sexuality’
- A painter refused to decorate a gay couple’s two-bed terraced house in Bristol
- The painter said she could not do the job due to ‘guidelines’ from her church
A gay couple have claimed a decorator refused to work on their house because of her Christian faith.
Joshua and George, who declined to give their surnames, said she became awkward on realising their sexuality while visiting the home they share.
The tradeswoman later texted stating that as a ‘practising Christian’ she could not carry out the job due to ‘recommended guidelines’ at her church.
Joshua, 23, said he was ‘gobsmacked’ and ‘seething’ so took to Twitter to express his outrage.
He shared the text and added: ‘Just another day in the life of a practising homo – a tradesperson outright refusing to do some painting/decorating because of my sexuality.’
The couple had hired a tradesperson to paint their two bed terraced home in Bristol (pictured, file photo)
Joshua and his 26-year-old partner wanted their bedroom painted at the two-bed terrace home in Bristol which they bought in June last year.
After finding the decorator online, Joshua asked her round for a quote but noticed her attitude change when he mentioned George.
‘We were in the master bedroom when she asked if my partner was in and I replied ‘No he’s not’ that I first thought something was wrong,’ he told ITV News.
The woman, who the couple are not naming, left and sent the message hours later.
Joshua told gay news website Attitude: ‘We were genuinely shocked. Nothing like that has ever happened to us before.’
The decorator allegedly refused to paint the couple’s house due to being a ‘practising Christian’ (File photo)
The couple have not responded to the decorator but have complained to the website advertising her.
Supporters urged them to sue under the Equalities Act 2010 which bans discrimination due to sexual orientation but they are not currently keen to take such a serious step.
The case comes after a customer lost a seven-year legal fight with a bakery run by evangelical Christians in Northern Ireland which refused to make a cake with the slogan ‘Support gay marriage’.
Joshua said they did not ask for anything political, such as painting a pride rainbow, adding: ‘We just wanted a normal, boring paint job.’
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