Atlanta Landscaper Refuses Service to Gay Couple
A landscape company based in Atlanta, Georgia faces national scrutiny after it not only denied service to a gay couple last month, but called the couple’s marriage “perverse and foolish.” Word about the refusal began spreading after the couple wrote about the experience on the business’ Yelp page.
“Contacted today about a very large project in Sandy Springs,” the couple wrote. “The owner asked if the work was for me and my wife, I said no me and my husband and he replied that he wouldn’t be interested in working with us.”
Stuart Dinenno, the owner of Botanica Atlanta Landscape Design (the business in question), responded to the review confirming the couple’s negative experience while berating the LGBTQ community as a whole. He said:
“Yes, this is an accurate description of what happened. When doing a large landscaping project it is necessary to work with the homeowners closely over several months through the design and installation phases. I can’t do that, all the while going along with the delusion of two men calling themselves a married couple, with one man referring to the other man as his husband. It’s very perverse and foolish, and needs to be called out as such.”
Atlanta LGBTQ outlet Project Q reported on the incident noting:
The Better Business Bureau lists DiNenno as Botanica Atlanta’s owner, and he is listed as general manager on the business’s website.
It is illegal in the city of Atlanta to deny services to someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Atlanta is the only municipality in the state with such protections.
We reached out to the owner of Botanica Atlanta Landscape Design for comment but received no response.
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