Ariel and Shawnee McPhail and their son in their home.
ABC affiliate in North Carolina,
WTCI reports of yet another dumb decision made by a restaurant proprietor. Ed McGovern, owner of the Stingray Cafe in New Bern, NC, capped off a young lesbian couple's dining experience by handing them a a letter filled with Christian Biblical condemnations of homosexuality.
Poison pen for dessert at the Stingray Cafe
McGovern's difficulty with English has been corrected by WCTI:
"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."
It's actually a really sad story that his own relationship with his family has been broken. Not sure his daughter's life is really destroy, but I bet that's an accurate description of her relationship with her father. This is a reminder what a luminous light we lost when
Jeanne Manford, founder of PFLAG died this week. I suppose his heart is broken, but he shouldn't be taking it out on his customers.
He waited until the couple got out to the parking lot to deliver it, where he apparently observed them holding hands. McGovern confirmed to WCTI the letter is his.
The couple said everyone has the right to his or her opinion, but what McGovern did crossed the line.
"If we're experiencing it, then other people are too and that's not fair," said Ariel McPhail.
"We ask that anyone who agrees, not go," adds Shawnee.
In fact, McGovern told WCTI he'd delivered similar letters to other customers in the past.
More complete video at local North Carolina ABC affiliate, WCTI-12.
Isn't it funny he didn't think to confront the couple before he collected their dirty, sinful Sapphic money for the meal?
Isn't it funny "religious freedom and liberty" doesn't include gay people's right to live their lives free of and liberated from other peoples' religious beliefs?
The Stingray Cafe's rating on Yelp plummeted from 4 stars to 1 (lowest possible) in 24 hours, as the "reviews" skyrocketed from a handful to 240 and counting.
Since McGovern is fan of giving unsolicited advice, let's see if he wants mine: people in public accommodation business should keep their bigotries to themselves.
