The owner of a Christian wedding venue in Texas is taking heat after turning away a gay couple seeking to host their marriage ceremony at the facility.
Lyle Wise, who owns The Venue at Waterstone in Celina, informed the couple on Jan. 19 they had been rejected from using the location for their wedding, according to The Dallas Morning News. Wise told the couple they could not get married there because same-sex weddings violate his and his family’s religious beliefs.
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“The design for marriage that we hold to is based upon the design he set forth, which is a representation of the bride of Christ joined to the groom (Christ who is the very God we worship),” Wise explained in his email to Aaron Lucero, one of the grooms. “Given his plan and design for marriage, we dare not veer from his instruction lest we be guilty of altering what he has set forth.”
Here’s the response from The Venue at Waterstone who denied us yesterday. pic.twitter.com/ugDqTgb14Q
— Aaron Lucero (@locolucero) January 21, 2019
Wise also explained that God led him to pursue establishing a wedding venue “roughly 27 years ago,” at a time when he had “no knowledge or familiarity with wedding venues at the time.”
“We have tried to honor that vision by following his instructions and to serve as by his example,” he added.
How did the couple respond?
In an email reply, Lucero’s partner, Jeff Cannon, thanked Wise for informing them of his opposition to gay marriage — and his unwillingness to host their wedding ceremony — before the couple traveled to look at the venue.
Cannon told Wise he and Lucero “certainly don’t want to patronize a business where we are not welcome.”
“My partner and I were both raised in very religious families where we were taught that homosexuality was a sin and not just any sin, but a very serious transgression so we certainly understand the basis for your faith and ideology,” Cannon wrote.
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He went on to say he is thankful that, after years of turmoil, his “very conservative God-fearing family” accepted him and his partner. Cannon said God “changed their hearts as well even as the church they attend continues to preach against homosexuality.”
“Our prayer is that God will one day open your hearts as well so that you will be able to welcome all of his children into your beautiful venue,” he continued.
Here’s my fiancé’s response to the venue. pic.twitter.com/eNDMwThHuu
— Aaron Lucero (@locolucero) January 21, 2019
What else has happened?
Following Wise’s decision to turn down Lucero and Cannon over his Christian beliefs, The Knot, a major wedding planning platform, removed the Texas venue from its online listings.
“Our company supports everyone’s right to marry the person they love and prohibits any vendor on our site from discriminating against a couple based on their race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.,” a spokesperson for The Knot told Out magazine.