When same sex couple from St. Johns, Nicole White and Pam Renouf, went into Today’s Jewellers in the Mount Pearl area of St John’s, Newfoundland and looking for custom made engagement rings, they had no idea anyone had a problem with their relationship. They were so impressed with the prices and customer service that they even referred friends to the store. But when those friends went in, they were greeted with a sign that seemed to oppose gay marriage.
The sign, which read, “The sanctity of marriage is under attack. Let’s keep marriage between a man and a woman,” was a surprise to White and Renouf who said the store was “great to work with. They seemed to have no issues. They knew the two of us were a same-sex couple.”
After seeing a photo of the sign, White and Renouf went back into the store to see it for themselves. When they asked an employee about it, “they just said that that's their beliefs, and they think they can put up whatever they want. I just said it was very disrespectful, it's very unprofessional and I wanted a refund," White said. "I have no issues with them believing in what they believe in. I think everyone's entitled to their own opinion. But I don't think they should put their personal beliefs inside their business.”
Even though White and Renouf love the rings and already put down a deposit, they say they now feel tainted. They were supposed to be a symbol of love, but now they’ll just be a reminder that there are still people in the world that think their relationship and love for each other is wrong.
CBC spoke to the owner of Today’s Jewellers, Esau Jardon, who said he’s been posting signs promoting his beliefs in his store for years and has never had any backlash from customers before. “It seems to be a Canadian right to post what you believe,” he said. Jardon is an immigrant who says his family came to Canada because of the freedom of religion and speech. "Nothing in that shop or in these posters is against the law... There's nothing there that means to discriminate or to hate anybody else,” he said.
Jardon has been experiencing so much backlash on social media because of the poster that he had to remove the store’s Facebook page. "I feel really bad that [White] feels that we would in any way try to hurt or discriminate against her, but we will not retract from what we believe. I cannot say, 'Well because you feel bad, I will stop believing what I believe,'" he said.
To be fair, the employees didn’t treat White and Renouf any differently because they are a same sex couple. They gave they the same service they would give anyone else, and never actually did anything that could be considered discrimination. But at the same time, the sign is a reminder to gay couples that they still aren’t fully accepted, and that’s not fair to them either.
When asked if he would give the couple a refund, Jardon said he wasn’t going to be bullied into apologizing for his beliefs, and the rings are ready to be picked up as soon as White and Renouf pay the remaining balance. While everyone is free to believe what they choose, it may have been in Today’s Jewellers to keep their controversial opinions private, because they’ll no doubt be losing a lot more business than just this one couple after this.
