Evangelist Greg Laurie rebuked a wedding venue in Mississippi that refused to host an interracial wedding because of the owner’s Christian beliefs.
“There is no Biblical justification for not marrying people of different races,” Laurie wrote on Twitter. “This was wrong from the beginning.”
There is no Biblical justification for not marrying people of different races. This was wrong from the beginning.
Mississippi wedding venue cites ‘Christian belief’ in refusing interracial couple – USA TODAY https://t.co/irogvP2zPV— Greg Laurie (@greglaurie) September 4, 2019
A video of the initial refusal went viral. The video shows the venue owner telling LaKambria Welch that the venue couldn’t host the marriage because the woman’s brother was black and his fiancee was white.
“First of all, we don’t do gay weddings or mixed-race [weddings],” says the venue owner. “Because of our Christian race. I mean, our Christian belief.”
The venue owner has since apologized, according to Vox. In a since-deleted Facebook post, she said her “intent was never of racism, but to stand firm on what I ‘assumed’ was right concerning marriage.” She says a conversation with her pastor helped her realize her beliefs were not actually biblical.
“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,” officials said in a Facebook statement, according to NBC. “Furthermore, the City of Booneville, Mayor, and Board of Aldermen do not condone or approve these types of discriminatory policies.”
