Gay couple turned
away from S.C. hotel

A gay couple inquiring about a hotel room in South Carolina were turned away because of their sexual orientation.

Jason Pickel and Darren Black Bear told local television station WLTX that they were searching for a home in the Sumter, S.C., area and needed a place to stay during their search. When calling the Affordable Suites of America, a long-term stay hotel, they asked about pricing and other details on the room.

"She asked who the room was going to be for, and I said for my partner and I," Pickel said in the news report. "She said, 'Oh, we don't rent to multiple people of the same sex.' I said, 'So you don't rent to gay couples? She said, 'No, we don't rent to gay people at all.'"

Posing as an interested customer, someone from the station contacted the hotel, inquiring about same-sex couples staying in the room. The receptionist told them their policy about accommodating gay couples: "Our policy is we don't rent to two people of the same sex if we only have one bed." The receptionist explained further that the corporate policy provides living space for only one person. The station member asked if they could just share the bed.

"I suppose they could, but most men don't want to," she said.

The station then contacted the hotel's owner, who said the policy was not intended to exclude gays and that any couple would be allowed to stay at the hotel. (The Advocate)