NEW BERN, N.C. — A married lesbian couple in North Carolina is outraged and going public after receiving a letter from a cafe owner condemning them because they are gay.
Ariel and Shawnee McPhail said that after finishing their meal at The Stingray Café in New Bern, N.C., on December 4, the owner handed them a letter stating God’s opposition to homosexuality.
The hand written letter read, in part:
“God said in the last days that man and wom(a)n would be lover of self, more (than) the lover of God.
That man and woman would have unnatural (affection) for one another. Then, the coming of the Son of Man, who is Jesus. So please, look at your life. See how it hurt(s) everyone around you. And ask the Lord to open your eye(s) before it (is) to(o) late.
The Love of Christ
P.S. my daughter also was gay. It destroy(ed) her life and my grandson.”
Ed McGovern, the owner of the cafe, told WCTI-TV that he gave the couple that letter “out of love,” and that did something similar to another lesbian couple in the past.
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McGovern said he wrote the letter because he did not approve of the McPhail’s “kissing” outside of his restaurant, something the McPhail’s deny.
“First of all, we didn’t kiss. We don’t kiss in public. We were holding hands,” said Shawnee McPhail. “Secondly, if I did kiss my wife in public, what married couple would you go to and say, ‘How dare you? You cannot hold hands and you cannot kiss in public therefore you deserve my judgement.'”
The couple said everyone has the right to his or her opinion, but that McGovern crossed the line.
“If we’re experiencing it, then other people are too and that’s not fair,” said Ariel McPhail.
Since WCTI-TV first reported the story earlier this week, The Stingray Cafe has come under fire by LGBT advocates, posting hundreds of negative reviews on the website Yelp!
