August 23, 2011
By JOHN CURRAN
Associated Press
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - The owners of a Vermont inn that refused to host a lesbian couple's wedding reception say they have no policy to discriminate against same-sex couples.
In response to a suit filed last month, a lawyer says owners Jim and Mary O'Reilly were never told about the couple's request to hold their wedding reception at the Wildflower Inn.
Attorney Norman Smith also said in a court filing Monday that a meeting and events director at the Lyndonville inn who dealt with the couple wasn't authorized to reject requests from same-sex couples. Smith says the employee was instead supposed to tell the owners, who would then speak to the couple.
Kate Baker and Ming Linsley, of New York, say the inn violated anti-discrimination rules by refusing to host their reception last year.
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