After making headlines for refusing a second same-sex couple to get married at their Stanford venue due to religious reasons, Beloftebos is now in the process of being taken to court by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).
As reported by Weekend Argus, the SAHRC in Cape Town is busy completing papers for the High Court and the Equality Court in the case involving Beloftebos and the refused ceremony between Megan Watling and Sasha-Lee Heekes.
In a post which has now been removed from their website, the Beloftebos owners said that they are “Christians who seek to honour and obey God in everything we do, including the way in which we operate our business”.
The statement then concluded by saying that, for them “to host (and thereby enable, or celebrate) a same-sex ‘marriage, would be to dishonour and disobey God – potentially with eternal consequences.”
Commissioner Andre Gaum, however, disagrees and says that the venue’s views are unconstitutional.
“One cannot, on the basis of your religious beliefs, discriminate against the sexual orientation of others,” says Gaum, who has been trying to mediate with Beloftebos since 2017 when the first complaint was laid against them for the same refusal to an American couple.
“It is disappointing that in this day and age we are still faced with this. South Africans should accept that we are a country united in our diversity. There is a real need for greater reconciliation among all South Africans.”
All is not lost for the couple at the center of the controversy, however, with several other venues in the area has since spoken up and offered their services as alternative options.
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