Mississippi Wedding Venue Apologizes For Refusing To Host Interracial Couple
An event venue in Booneville, Mississippi is apologizing for refusing to host an interracial couple’s wedding because they believed it violated their “Christian belief.”
A video of Boone’s Camp Event Hall’s owner explaining her venue’s refusal went viral after LaKambria Welch, the sister of the bride, posted it on her Facebook. Now, Boone’s took to their own Facebook page to apologize after Welch’s video sparked outrage.
In a post made on Monday (September 2), the venue’s account, which is now deleted, explained that growing up they were raised so that their “racial boundaries” were “that of staying within your own race,” and apparently after consulting the Bible and their pastor, discovered that biracial marriage is not mentioned.
“To all of those offended, hurt or felt condemn by my statement I truly apologize to you for my ignorance in not knowing the truth about this,” the post said, according a screenshot posted by another user of the social media app. “My intent was never of racism, but to stand firm on what I ‘assumed’ was right concerning marriage.”
The City of Booneville has also issued a statement on Facebook, claiming it does not condemn any sort of discrimination.
“The City of Booneville, Mayor, and Board of Aldermen do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status,” the statement reads. “Furthermore, the City of Booneville, Mayor, and Board of Aldermen do not condone or approve of these types of discriminatory policies.”
While the unnamed owners of Boone’s may have come to an “awakening” over interracial marriage, it’s unclear whether they will change its discriminatory policy. It also didn’t seem to be sorry for its homophobia, which was reportedly unmentioned in the Facebook post. Its omission seems to indicate that they believe gay marriage still violates their “Christian belief.”
Even with their apology, the event venue’s Yelp page is being slammed with one-star reviews. Yelp has since not allowed more reviews to be submitted due to Boone’s making “waves in the news.”
