‘We feel less than human’: Lesbian couple banned from hosting rehearsal dinner at Missouri cafe
Two Missouri women who are engaged to be married were turned away by a local restaurant on Tuesday when they tried to book reservations for their rehearsal dinner. An employee told them it was because they’re in a lesbian relationship.
Kendall Brown and Mindy Rackley were shocked when a worker at Madison’s Café in the city of O’Fallon told Brown over the phone that they were not welcome to celebrate their impending nuptials there because of their sexual orientation.
The rejection occurred after the employee requested the groom’s name, and Brown said she was actually marrying a woman named Mindy, she told KMOV4.
“She said, 'your spouse is a woman?’ I said, ‘yes.’ And she said, ‘I’m sorry, we’re going to have to defer you to someone else because we don’t condone that kind of relationship,” said Brown. “Out of love for you, I’m going to decline your business because you are in an unhealthy relationship.”
After Brown hung up, she immediately called Rackley to tell her about the discrimination. “It just saddens me,” Rackley said of her reaction to the news. “I could not believe that really happened to us. I could not believe that still really happens in this world today.”
Ethics aside, Madison’s Café does have a legal right to deny service to the couple. Missouri’s Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on sex, but not sexual orientation, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri.
Rackley told KMOV4 that she understands it is the restaurant’s prerogative to refuse service to a same-sex couple, but she felt the business was being disrespectful. “It’s appalling to be treated any less than human by not serving me because we are women and are in a relationship,” she said. “We feel less than human.”
Yahoo Lifestyle reached out to Madison’s Café, but they declined to comment.
The couple hopes that by sharing their experience, others in their shoes will benefit. “I want this story to let everybody in our situation know that their voice matters, and that they’re important,” said Brown. “What they have to say matters, and their hearts matter.” Brown and Rackley have since found another venue for their rehearsal dinner, and the couple’s wedding will take place on June 15.
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
Georgia motel manager fired for turning away LGBTQ group: 'We allow all communities'
Gay teens say they were kicked out of restaurant for hugging: 'We don't want your kind here'
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