The owner of a Mississippi wedding venue refused to work with an interracial couple because of her Christian beliefs, viral video shows.
LaKambria Welch, the sister of the groom, said she visited Boone’s Camp Event Hall on Saturday to find out why her brother, who is black, was being told he wouldn’t be able to use the Booneville venue to marry his white fiancée.
“First of all, we don’t do gay weddings or mixed race, because of our Christian race — I mean, our Christian belief,” the owner told Welch.
“OK, we’re Christians as well, so … what in the Bible tells you that?” Welch replied.
“Well, I don’t want to argue my faith,” the woman responds, prompting Welch to say that was fine. “Yeah, we just don’t participate. We just choose not to.”
Welch then asked the woman if the refusal was due to her “Christian belief,” which she affirmed, video shows.
“Yes, ma’am,” the owner replied.
Welch told Deep South Voice, which broke the story on Sunday, that she thinks the venue learned about her brother’s wedding after looking at his fiancée’s Facebook page.
“He told my mom and she contacted the owner through Messenger to only get a ‘seen’ with no reply,” Welch told the website. “That’s when I took it upon myself to get clarification on her beliefs.”
A state website lists Donna and David Russell as the owners of the wedding venue, Deep South Voice reported. Multiple calls to the venue by The Post Tuesday afternoon went unanswered.
As online backlash to the footage grew, the venue later deleted its Facebook profile but later reactivated it to post a lengthy apology, according to a screenshot cited by the Washington Post.
“As a child growing up in Mississippi our racial boundaries that were unstated were that of staying with your own race,” the post read. “This was never verbally spoken, but it was an understood subject.”
The author of the post then met with her pastor late Sunday after being unable to cite Bible passages that supported her decision. She later learned that she was misinformed, according to the post.
“I have, for many years, stood firm on my Christian faith not knowing that biracial relationships were NEVER mentioned in The Bible!” the post continued. “I know there are verses whom [sic] we claim to support this, but to my finding it is not supported at all!”
The since-deleted post also apologized for the woman’s “ignorance in not knowing the truth about this,” according to the Washington Post.
“My intent was never of racism, but to stand firm on what I ‘assumed’ was right concerning marriage,” the apology read.
The Facebook page for Boone’s Camp has since been deleted.
In 2016, lawmakers in Mississippi passed a law that allows businesses to refuse service to LGBT customers on the basis of their religious beliefs on marriage or gender. The law does not mention race, Deep South Voice reported.
Booneville city officials, meanwhile, chimed in on the controversy Monday, saying they do not “condone or approve” the venue’s discriminatory policy.
“The City of Booneville, Mayor, and Board of Aldermen do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status,” the statement read.