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  WINDY CITY TIMES

Gay couple takes action against B&Bs
by Ross Forman, Windy City Times
2011-03-02

This article shared 4223 times since Wed Mar 2, 2011
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Mark Wathen came out at work Feb. 24, as he and Todd, his partner of eight years, are involved in a sexual discrimination lawsuit, and his company is 100 percent supportive—of his sexual orientation and what the couple is are going through legally.

The Wathens were denied access to the special-events services of two Illinois bed-and-breakfast inns that advertise publicly for such services. So, the two men have filed complaints with the Illinois Attorney General and the Illinois Department of Human Rights, alleging violations of the Illinois Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation by businesses open to the public.

"Why should I have to tell or be out at my place of employment?" Mark Wathen said. "Everyone who I love and care for knows about my sexual orientation. My family and friends all have known about Todd and our relationship. They have been supportive every step of the way. I chose not to disclose my sexual orientation, to my employer, because my sexual orientation should not be an issue at my place of employment. I don't want to be judged by my sexual orientation; I want to be judged by my work performance.

"I was planning on disclosing my sexual orientation [to] my employer when Todd and I have our civil union [later this summer], because of wanting to put Todd on my health insurance. But, I decided to tell them before they found out in the media," from the lawsuit.

Mark Wathen, 43, lives in Mattoon, and he came out to the owner of the company he works for—and he's "happy and relieved" with their supportive response.

Mark said he was, "shocked, hurt, and angry," when he heard about the inns' response to working with same-sex couples.

"I told Todd, 'How can a business with a license through the state of Illinois act this way towards us?'" Mark said. "We have never experienced discrimination first-hand, and when this happened to us, we were not going to let them treat us this way because of our sexual orientation.

"Todd showed me the e-mails from the bed and breakfasts, and I immediately contacted the Better Business Bureau and they referred me to the Illinois attorney general's office to file a complaint. I then filled a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights. After filling these complaints with the state agencies, Todd and I contacted a few law firms to see if they would represent us, but never heard anything back from them. We were so pleased when we contacted attorney Betty Tsamis with Tsamis Law firm out of Chicago. She immediately agreed to represent us after we reviewed with her our case."

Mark and Todd Wathen are challenging the actions of The Beall Mansion in Alton, Ill., and TimberCreek Bed and Breakfast in Paxton, Ill.

"We were very excited when the Illinois state Senate passed the civil-union Bill," Mark said. "We were following this very closely and contacted Gov. Quinn's office to see when he would sign the bill into law so we could plan our civil union wedding. With all of the media attention our case is getting, we hope this has a positive impact on the State of Illinois [so] businesses cannot discriminate against anyone due to sexual orientation."

For more details, see www.TsamisLaw.com .


This article shared 4223 times since Wed Mar 2, 2011
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