British Christian Bed And Breakfast Owners Lose Appeal Against A Ruling They Acted Unlawfully Refusing Admittance To Gay Couple, Atlanta Police Name Third Suspect In Violent Gang Gay Bashing, Tyler Clementi Ex-Roommate Dharun Ravi Faces Additional Sentencing After Legal Mistake Discovered, 25-Year-Old California Who Stabbed Denny’s Waiter He Thought Gay Sentenced To 25 Years To Life For Attempted Murder With Hate Crime Enhancement

In Britain, two Christian guesthouse owners who refused to allow a gay couple to stay in a double room have lost their appeal against a ruling they acted unlawfully. Peter and Hazelmary Bull, from Cornwall, took their case to the Court of Appeal. The couple had refused to allow civil partners Steven Preddy and Martyn Hall, from Bristol, the room at Chymorvah House in 2008. They were ordered in January 2011 to pay £3,600 in damages. The BBC reports that the challenge by the couple, whose guesthouse is in Marazion, was rejected by three judges in London. They had appealed against a conclusion by a judge at Bristol County Court that they acted unlawfully when they turned the couple away. Judge Andrew Rutherford ruled last year that the Bulls had breached equality legislation. The appeal judges heard that the Bulls thought any sex outside marriage was a "sin", but denied they had discriminated against Mr Hall and Mr Preddy. Mr Bull, 72, and Mrs Bull, who is in her late 60s, were not in court for the ruling. During the hearing of the appeal in November, James Dingemans QC, for the Bulls, argued that the couple were entitled to hold "outdated" religious beliefs. He said the Bulls operated a policy directed towards sexual practice not sexual orientation and said they believed that permitting unmarried people - whether heterosexual or homosexual - to share a double bed involved them in "promoting a sin.” Dingemans said the Bulls were not trying to undermine the rights of Hall and Preddy and judges had to carefully balance all human rights involved. Preddy and Hall were backed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission Robin Allen QC, for Hall and Preddy, argued that his clients had a "lawful civil partnership" and the guesthouse should have been "open" to them in the same way it was to heterosexual married couples. The judges heard that the Bulls' appeal was funded by the Christian Institute and Hall and Preddy were backed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. After the ruling, John Wadham, the commission's group legal director, said, "I have genuine sympathy for Mr and Mrs Bull, as their beliefs are clearly strongly held. We believe that this case will help people to better understand the law around freedom of religion. When offering a service, people cannot use their beliefs - religious or otherwise - to discriminate against others." He added that the commission had no intention of enforcing its entitlement to legal costs. Simon Calvert, of the Christian Institute, said, "Peter and Hazelmary have been penalised for their beliefs about marriage. Not everyone will agree with Peter and Hazelmary's beliefs, but a lot of people will think it is shame that the law doesn't let them live and work according to their own values under their own roof." Ben Summerskill, chief executive of the lesbian, gay and bisexual charity Stonewall, said he was "delighted" that the court upheld the judgment. He said, "The court's decision vindicates Stonewall's hard lobbying to make it illegal to deny goods or services to someone just because they happen to be gay. That obviously includes hotel rooms for many gay holidaymakers. I hope Mr and Mrs Bull will now feel content to go home to do God's good work as Easter approaches, instead of relentlessly pursuing a happy couple through the courts."

Atlanta police have identified the third man seen in an online video allegedly beating and kicking a 20-year-old gay man while shouting anti-gay invectives. Brandon White was attacked Saturday in front of a corner market at 1029 McDaniel Street in the southwest Atlanta neighbourhood of Pittsburgh by men identified as members of the 1029 Jack City Gang. Video footage of the attack came to the attention of police and the FBI when it was posted online, and federal authorities are considering seeking federal hate crime charges against the suspects. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Police Chief George Turner told Pittsburgh residents and business owners Thursday evening during a neighbourhood public safety meeting that two of the three men depicted in the video had been identified and that arrest warrants were being sought. Zone 3 commander Maj. Barbara Cavender said Friday that police had identified the third man who participated in the attack. Police have not released the alleged assailants' names or their suspected whereabouts.

The former Rutgers University student accused of spying on a gay roommate may face a increased possibility of prison after a judge said he found a "mistake" concerning one charge. The Star-Ledger reports that a charge of hindering an investigation filed against Dharun Ravi, 19, is actually a second-degree crime, not third-degree as stated in the indictment, Middlesex County First Assistant Prosecutor Julia McClure said Monday in a hearing less than two weeks before the start of jury selection, This is significant, said Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman, because a third-degree crime carries of presumptive sentence with no incarceration, but a second-degree offense "is a presumption toward imprisonment." Berman told prosecution and defense lawyers to file motions on the issue. Ravi, of Plainsboro, is accused in a 15-count indictment of bias intimidation and using a webcam to remotely spy on his roommate, Tyler Clementi, 18, who was in an intimate embrace with another man in Ravi’s and Clementi’s dorm room in September 2010. Clementi, an 18-year-old freshman, later committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. In the hearing in New Brunswick, the judge said he discovered the hindering charge was incorrectly labelled a third-degree offense in his review of the indictment. He told prosecutors about his discovery last month. "I’m not sure it’s fair to make Mr. Ravi pay for a mistake that I caught," he said. The hindering charge alleges Ravi tried to influence a witness after the police investigation began. Phillip Nettl, one of Ravi’s defense attorneys, argued the hindering count should be dismissed. Of the 15 counts in the indictment, he said, only three charges of bias carry a presumption of prison. Two other hindering charges accuse Ravi of changing his tweets before the police investigation started. Berman said those charges should be labelled as fourth-degree crimes instead of third-degree, as stated in the indictment. In a separate issue, Berman granted Nettl’s request that prosecutors provide more information from Clementi’s computer. Nettl said he wants to determine whether Clementi complained to the dorm’s resident assistant about Ravi before or after he discovered Ravi‘s tweets about what was seen on the webcam. Authorities allege Ravi told friends about seeing Clementi "making out with another dude."

A man who stabbed Central California restaurant waiter he thought was gay has been sentenced to 26 years to life in prison. The Santa Barbara News-Press says 25-year-old Chris Martin pleaded no contest to attempted murder with special allegations of committing a hate crime and using a deadly weapon. He was sentenced on Wednesday. Investigators say Martin thought a Santa Maria Denny's restaurant waiter was a homosexual. Employees say they were sitting at a table before the restaurant opened in September 2010 when Martin tapped on the window, asking to use the bathroom. He was let in and he approached the table. Martin asked a waiter if he was gay and, without provocation, he stabbed the waiter twice in the neck and yelled anti-gay slurs. The waiter survived.