Mississippi event hall refuses to host interracial couple’s wedding, cites Christian beliefs

BOONEVILLE, Miss. (WLBT) - A Booneville event hall refused to host an interracial couple’s wedding, citing their Christian beliefs.

According to the sister of the groom, LaKambria Welch, her brother and his fiance wanted to get married in their hometown of Booneville and were looking for a venue to hold their wedding ceremony.

They contacted Boone’s Camp Events Hall at 101 E. Church Street and spoke with a woman, believed to be one of the owners of the event hall.

The owner was supposed to meet them Saturday morning so they could check out the event space. That morning, before the meeting took place, the owner wrote the soon-to-be bride saying that they couldn’t wed there due to her “Christian beliefs.”

The groom’s mother messaged the owner on Facebook asking what her particular beliefs were, but never got a response.

Welch, the groom’s sister, decided to drive to the venue to get clarification. She confronted the woman on August 31st and recorded her encounter, posting it online. In the video, you can hear the conversation as Welch confronted the woman.

“First of all, we don’t do gay weddings or mixed race, because of our Christian race... I mean our Christian beliefs,” the owner is heard saying.

Welch replied saying, “OK, we’re Christians as well, So... what in the Bible tells you that?”

“Well, I don’t want to argue my faith,” the woman stated.” 'We just don’t participate. We just choose not to.”

The video has since gone viral on social media with over 2 million views.

The City of Booneville responded to the incident on Facebook saying:

The City of Booneville, Mayor, and Board of Aldermen are aware of the comments recently made by a privately owned...
Posted by City of Booneville on Monday, September 2, 2019

According to Welch, the event hall apologized to the family.

We reached out to the event space for a comment but received no reply.