‘We don’t do gay or mixed race because of our Christian belief,’ says wedding venue
Boone’s Camp Event Hall. (Google)
The alleged owner of a wedding hall in Mississippi was seen saying her venue does not served mixed race or gay couples in a video posted online.
LaKambria Welch said her brother and his fiancée were speaking to staff at Boone’s Camp Event Hall to make arrangements for their wedding, reports Deep South Voice.
However, she said that after around a week of discussions the hall sent the couple a message to say that they would not be permitted to get married at the venue because of its “beliefs”.
Wedding venue says it does not do weddings for gay or mixed-race couples.
Welch explained that she then drove to the venue to ask the owner why the venue would not accommodate for her brother, who is black, and his fiancée.
In the video, the woman says: “First of all, we don’t do gay weddings or mixed race, because of our Christian race – I mean, our Christian belief.”
Welsh then questions the woman, asking her: “So, what in the Bible tells you that?”
She responds: “Well, I don’t want to argue my faith.”
Welch filmed the incident and posted about it on Facebook. (
LaKambria S. Welch/Facebook)
Welch took to Facebook to upload a video of the incident on Saturday, August 31.
Woman says she is shaken by venue’s refusal to accommodate her brother and his fiancée
Speaking to PinkNews, Welch said: “I was heavily infuriated in that moment. As calm as I sounded in the video, I was shaking.
“To hear someone saying this in my hometown, where I thought everyone loved everybody, was actually shocking to say the least. I know racism is still around, but to know that my own sibling and his soon-to-be wife have experienced it in the midst of what should be a celebratory time really broke my heart.”
In the state of Mississippi, businesses are allowed to refuse services to LGBT+ people on the grounds of their religious beliefs since the Religious Liberty Accommodations Act became law in 2016.
To hear someone saying this in my hometown, where I thought everyone loved everybody, was actually shocking to say the least.
On Facebook, Welch told her friends to not contact the venue if they are in a mixed race couple.
“FYI, if you’re a mixed race couple, please do NOT inquire Boones Camp for a wedding venue. They will not accommodate you if you’re ‘gay’ or ‘mixed race’ due to their ‘Christian beliefs’,” she said alongside her post on Saturday (August 31).
“It’s SO sad that RACISM is still going on in 2019. I never knew God to discriminate but as I’ve said before, everyone will have their time with him.
“I just hope it’s all worth it.”
Another woman has also told Deep South Voice that the wedding hall refused to serve a same-sex couple lat year.
Watch the video below:
