Mississippi wedding venue cites 'Christian belief' in refusing interracial couple
JACKSON, Miss. – An interracial Mississippi couple was turned away from a wedding venue with the owner citing her refusal based on her "Christian beliefs." The owner of the venue has since apologized, saying she was raised to believe interracial marriage was an "understood subject."
In a now-viral video posted on Facebook on Saturday by LaKambria Welch, an unidentified woman can be heard saying, in part, "we don't do gay weddings or mixed-raced (weddings) because of our Christian race, I mean our Christian belief."
With the 2016 passage of House Bill 1523, Mississippi businesses are allowed to deny services based on their religious views. The bill also prevents government intervention when churches or businesses act "based upon or in a manner consistent with a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction." The bill was primarily directed at sexual orientation and same-sex marriage. Race was not a part of the legislation.
According to multiple media reports, Welch went to Boone's Camp Event Hall in Booneville on Saturday with her mother after finding out the venue would not host her brother, who is black, and his fianceé, who is white.
Act of violence: Neo-Nazi sentenced to life in prison for killing woman after seeing interracial couple
In the video, Welch begins to ask the woman, "Well, we're Christians as well so, what in the Bible tells you that," but the woman interrupts her, saying, "Well, I just don't want to argue my faith.
"We just don't participate, we just choose not to," she said.
Welch could not be reached for comment Tuesday, and the video is no longer publicly available on her Facebook page. Calls to Boone's Camp Event Hall went unanswered. According to the Mississippi Secretary of State's website, the space is registered to David and Donna Russell of Booneville.
Boone's Camp Event Hall has since deleted their Facebook page but not before they posted an apology and said, after researching, they found that the woman's views on interracial marriage were unfounded.
In two screenshots obtained by WCBI-TV in Columbus, Mississippi, the event hall posted an apology, saying in part, "as a child growing up in Mississippi, our racial boundaries that were unstated were that of staying in your own race."
Technology: New emojis promoted by Tinder represent interracial couples and a win for inclusiveness
In the post, the woman said her husband asked her where the Bible mentioned "biracial relationships." After spending the weekend looking for it and consulting her pastor, the woman said she realized her beliefs were "incorrect," saying, "As my Bible reads, there are two requirements for marriage and race has nothing to do with either!"
The woman then apologized for her "ignorance in not knowing the truth."
"My intent was never of racism but to stand firm on what I 'assumed' was right concerning marriage," she said.
It was not clear whether the woman had reached out to Welch or the couple to apologize.
Follow Sarah Fowler on Twitter: @FowlerSarah
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi wedding venue rejects interracial couple citing religion
