- The Country Abbey
The Country Abbey, a privately owned, all-in-one wedding venue in Justin, doesn’t allow same-sex commitment ceremonies.
CBS 11 reported over the weekend that a local lesbian couple, Tiny Shaft and Tiffany Fenimore, were turned away when they sought to have their commitment ceremony at the Country Abbey. The facility was once a Baptist church, but it’s now privately owned and lacks any religious affiliation.
Local gay-rights attorney Rob Wiley told CBS 11 that the couple has no recourse except to find another venue, because there is no prohibition against discrimination based on sexual orientation in public accommodations.
CBS 11 reports that the owner of the Country Abbey refused to be interviewed on camera about why she won’t let same-sex couples pay the roughly $2,000 booking fee for the Country Abbey (which, according to the website, doesn’t include catering).
I put a call in to the Country Abbey this morning, and a woman who answered the phone refused comment. The woman said the abbey’s owner won’t be in or able to return my call until Tuesday.
“I actually just found out about the story today,” the woman said. “I definitely don’t want to be saying anything.”
Of course, there are plenty of LGBT-inclusive churches in North Texas that perform same-sex commitment ceremonies, so it’s not like this couple is out of options. But that’s not the point: This is overt discrimination by a private business, and the LGBT community should be outraged. What if a restaurant refused to serve gay customers?
Here is the owner’s contact information…. contact her and let her know how you feel about her businesses discriminatory actions
Sherrill Naomi Niederer (husband’s name = Donald H)
630 Sunset Court
Argyle, Texas 76226-1712
(940) 464-7462
The County Abbey’s Facebook link
https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55229213924&ref=ts
(Found online that in 2007 they donated $2000 to the Mike Huckabee Presidential Campaign)
I gave the wrong link earlier for The Country Abbey Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Justin-TX/The-Country-Abbey/70254743241?ref=search
This is why we have courts.
These women need to file a discrimination lawsuit.
They will win.
Politics and a privately owned wedding venue?? I never knew Rand Paul wore so many hats.
It is a typo! My name is actually Tina. Tiffany says she is going to start calling me Tiny now 🙂
Our whole reason for doing this was not to sue anyone or cause them any problems. We just wanted other gay couples to know that there are places like The Country Abbey out there, so they would not feel the embarrasment we felt.
The bright side in all this is that we have received messages of support from complete strangers. Gives us hope that someday we all will be treated equally in this country in all regards. Thank you everyone!