Supreme Court Won't Hear B&B Owner's Appeal to Discriminate

After Diane Cervelli and Taeko Bufford were turned away from Aloha Bed & Breakfast, they filed a charge of discrimination with the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission.

In 2018, Aloha Bed & Breakfast was found to have engaged in discriminatory practices, though the damages were not decided.

Young opted to try to bring the case to the Supreme Court, but on Monday, her appeal was rejected. The Supreme Court will not hear the case.

All the way back in 2007, Cervelli successfully booked a room through the owner, Phyllis Young, but when she mentioned they would only need one bed, Young asked if they were lesbians. Cervelli confirmed, and Young told her she would be uncomfortable with them staying there, and cancelled the booking.

Young’s lawyers says she is highly religious, and “believes that she is morally responsibly for the sexual activity that takes place under her roof.”

But Hawaii’s anti-discrimination laws have left the courts siding with the couple.

“The Supreme Court’s decision to let the lower court ruling stand reaffirms that the freedom of religion does not give businesses a right to violate nondiscrimination laws that protect all individuals from harm,” said Peter Renn of Lambda Legal.

Now, Young is left with a choice — she can rent rooms to everyone, including LGBTQ couples, or she can stop renting out rooms at all.

“We thought the days when business owners would say, ‘we’re open to the public — but not to you,’ was a thing of the past,” Bufford previously said in a statement. “You don’t have to change your beliefs, but you do have to follow the law just as everyone else does.”