B&B Settles Discrimination Suit By Agreeing To No Longer Host Wedding Receptions

The ACLU yesterday announced that it had reached a settlement with a Vermont bed and breakfast in Baker and Linsley v. Wildflower Inn.  The suit charged the B&B with discrimination after it refused to host a same-sex wedding reception for two women because of the owners' religious beliefs. In the settlement, Wildflower Inn agreed that the Vermont Fair Housing and Public Accommodation Act bars unequal treatment of same-sex couples, including a failure to respond to inquiries or discouraging same-sex couples from using the facilities. The resort agreed to pay a $10,000 civil penalty to the Vermont Human Rights Commission-- which had intervened as a co-plaintiff-- and $20,000 to a charitable trust to be disbursed by the couple, Kate and Ming Linsley.  However, instead of agreeing to host same-sex wedding receptions, the Inn agreed that it will no longer host wedding receptions of any kind.