The owner of a wedding venue in Mississippi is apologizing after a video of her refusing to marry an interracial couple goes viral.
LaKambria S. Welch drove to Boone's Camp Event Hall in Mississippi Saturday to speak with the venue owner and get an explanation as to why she would not allow the couple to use the venue for their weddig.
"First of all, we don't do gay weddings or mixed race … because of our Christian race, I mean, our Christian belief," the event hall's owner can be seen telling Welch.
NEW: A Mississippi venue allegedly cancelled a couple's wedding plans after discovering the couple was a black man + a white woman."We don't do gay weddings or mixed race, because of our Christian race—I mean, our Christian belief," a woman says.More: https://t.co/9P0ZjNu3M0 pic.twitter.com/XKlRRSL44B
— Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman) September 1, 2019The video has garnered over 2 million views. The venue was bombarded with critics calling the owner's "hateful racists," and demanded they close down.
The hall has since taken down its Facebook page, and written a lengthy public apology.
In 2016, the Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant (R) signed a law allowing businesses to refuse service to LGBTQ people. The law does not however mention race.
"This is a sad day for the state of Mississippi and for the thousands of Mississippians who can now be turned away from businesses, refused marriage licenses, or denied housing, essential services and needed care based on who they are," Jennifer Riley-Collins, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, said in a statement. "This bill flies in the face of the basic American principles of fairness, justice and equality and will not protect anyone's religious liberty."
