Illinois Commission Panel turns down appeal of bed and breakfast owners who refused to host gay weddings

The three-member panel of Illinois Human Rights Commission declined to hear the appeal of bed and breakfast owners who refused to host a same-sex wedding in 2011.

Jim Walder, the owner of TimberCreek Bed & Breakfast, said that he plans to appeal his case to the full state Human Rights Commission.

"Citizens should only decide not to obey a law after much thought and only in extreme circumstances," Walder told The Christian Post.

"In our opinion, forcing a small business with one employee to host gay marriage which violates the owners sincerely-held Biblical belief that marriage is between one man and one woman is an extreme circumstance, especially when marriage has been understood for thousands of years to be a union between one man and one woman," he added.

TimberCreek declined to host a wedding ceremony for a same-sex couple in 2011, the year Illinois legalized same-sex unions. The couple then filed a complaint with the state's Department of Human Rights, claiming that the refusal is a violation the Illinois Human Rights act.

Last March, the owners of TimberCreek were ordered to pay the fine of $30,000 to the couple for causing emotional distress as well as an additional $50,000 for attorney's fees.

The judge also told the owners not to decline same-sex couples who want to hold civil union ceremonies or marriages in their facilities.

Regarding the latest decision, Walder told The News-Gazette that the "fix was in from the get-go," noting that two of the three panel members who reviewed his case were either "LGBT activists or openly gay."

"The public probably assumes that these three commissioners were nonpartisan, fair and neutral when the exact opposite was the case," he said.

Walder's attorney, Jason Craddock, said that he was not surprised by the panel's decision. He said that they will continue appealing to the entire commission. He plans to take the case to higher courts if necessary.

Walder clarified that he does not hate gays, and he simply did not want to compromise his Christian beliefs. He added that homosexuals are welcome at TimberCreek, but it will not host gay weddings.