Britian knows how to put bigot Christians in their place

[Fidel_Castronaut]

Yes... anti discrimination laws for public works!

I'm sorry I'm getting so frustrated here, guys, but this is an extremely intelligent forum, and I can't get people to understand the difference between "public" and "private". I understand it's a hot-button issue, and believe me, I get worked up about discrimination too, but this is a really simple concept!

You don't have to agree with my views, in fact, maybe I'm wrong... I'm always willing to explore the possibility... but can we please get past this part?

If a business is open to the public, it is open to the entire public. That's the law.

And that's the key.

Unfortunately for those that argue that the private sector is/should be immune from the same kind of legal/legislative restrictions that the public sector are under, it's simply not true.

A bus company could refuse a gay couple travel on their service because of their homosexuality. Had the owners of this B&B not been prevented from discriminating based solely on someone's gender preference for a relationship, than a [legal] precedent would have been set, and that would be far more dangerous than any complaint about laws not preventing 'x' behavior.

The public and private sphere do not exist in independent bubbles. They are both held account to the same laws. Discriminating based on age, sex, sexuality, colour, race (etc) is illegal in the UK. Doesn't matter if you made a business using your own capital. You set up in the UK and benefit from the infrastructure provided by others, you abide by the rules like everyone else.