Get the state out of our bed and breakfasts

Lorne Gunter, National Post:

One morning last March, a guest at Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang’s small Bounty House hotel near Liverpool, England, came down to breakfast wearing a hijab. This surprised the Vogelenzangs, since the woman, who was receiving treatment at a nearby hospital, had been with them several days and had not before worn the traditional headscarf of Muslim women.

A debate ensued among the trio during which the guest allegedly insisted Jesus was just a minor prophet, to which Mr. Vogelenzang is alleged to have responded that Mohammad was a warlord. The guest’s complaint to police also claims Mrs. Vogelenzang described the hijab as a form of bondage.

Police questioned the Vogelenzangs in April and again in July. Following this second visit, they charged the couple with using “threatening, abusive or insulting words” which were “religiously aggravated.”

They are to stand trial in December and if convicted will have criminal records and could face fines of up to $2,500 each.

The Vogelenzangs claim already to have lost their business as a result of the clash. The hospital at which the woman was being treated had referred her and many other guests to the Bounty House. But after the hospital learned of the woman’s complaint, they stopped recommending the guest house. Bookings dropped by 80% and the couple say they have had to sell.

They have apparently lost their livelihood and face criminal charges for sticking up for their beliefs. In a free country, such consequences are unbelievable.

But political correctness, backed by human rights commissions and hate-crime laws, have given crusading bureaucrats, activist special interest groups and aggressive minorities powerful weapons to use against those they accuse of offending them — in this case, a middle-aged couple with a large bed and breakfast.

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