Stanford tourism association suspends homophobic Beloftebos wedding venue
The Western Cape town of Stanford has condemned the Beloftebos wedding venue’s discriminatory policy of refusing to host same-sex weddings.
On Friday, the Stanford Association of Tourism and Business told its members that its Management Committee had decided “to suspend the membership of Beloftebos Wedding Venue, and remove all marketing of this wedding venue from our office and website immediately”.
Beloftebos made headlines this week after it informed Capetonian Alex Thorne and her partner Alex Lu that they could not marry at the venue. Owner Coia de Villiers confirmed to Thorne that, “we only host heterosexual marriages”.
Philippa Murray, from the Stanford Association of Tourism and Business, explained that both its own and the country’s constitutions, “dictate that the association must prevent and prohibit unfair discrimination and harassment; promote equality; and eliminate unfair discrimination.”
She acknowledged “the potential harm done by the discriminatory practices of Beloftebos Wedding venue” and said the association is “committed to promoting Stanford and the Cape Whale Coast as an inclusive tourism destination, as this association has done for almost 20 years”.
Murray further called on its members “to be a part of the solution and to help us promote Stanford as a unique and inclusive destination”.
Meanwhile, Beloftebos itself has refused to directly comment on the controversy. De Villiers told Mambaonline in an email: “We are in the process of taking legal advice and have been advised not to do any media interviews until such time as we have consulted on the issue and the way forward.” The venue’s Facebook page is also no longer accessible.
Alex Thorne and Alex Lu
However, speaking on behalf of the venue, anti-LGBT christian lobby group Freedom of Religion South Africa (Forsa), told Netwerk24: “The owners of Beloftebos are Christians who want to honour and be obedient to God in everything they do. This includes the way in which they run their business.”
Forsa Executive Director Michael Swain insisted that the owners do not hate gay people, but “it is their conscious before God which guides their venue policy and which prohibits them from holding any other weddings on their property.”
Constitutional and human rights experts, as well as the Equality Court, agree that business owners’ personal religious views are not an acceptable or legal basis on which to refuse to provide services to LGBT people.
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I respect any business owner that stands up for their beliefs. There are lots of other venues that would be happy to host this couple. Beloftebos is a wonderful, very popular venue and will continue to prosper.
it will prosper in your dreams darling.
So Tam, you also support Andre Slade of the Sodwana Bay lodge that made headlines last year when he said he would never accommodate black people as he believed that blacks and whites shouldn’t mix?
I think the owners of that venue are so behind in the times! Let people be people and live their own truths! I doubt that venue will prosper after being so close minded and ignorant 🙁
As a gay man I, recognize that Beloftebos has the right to do businesses with who they choose to.
If we as a gay and lesbian community want people to respect us and our rights then so must we respect other people. By not wanting to do same sex marriages Beloftebos committed no crime against person or group. They as a business are the only losers in this as they have lost a opportunity to make a profit out of this, but THAT IS THEIR RIGHT AS A PRIVATELY OWNED BUSINESS. No person or group have they right to another persons labor. Trying to force people to like and except gay and lesbian people will never work. The only way we can chance peoples harts and minds is by showing them that apart from our sexual choices that we are the same as they are. We must remember that the freedoms and respect that we want is also the freedoms and respect that others want .
I would like to know if the Tourism and Grading Council has also suspended Beloftebos after this shocking display of sexism which is akin to racism and is unconstitutional. You may not discriminate at all in the this country.