A Houston company's rejection of a client shocks some in the city,
where homosexuals have made strides.

By Lianne Hart, Times Staff Writer
November 6, 2006

HOUSTON - The co-owner of a landscaping company here called Garden
Guy turned down a job last month by sending an e-mail to a man who had
requested an estimate for work on his yard:

"I am appreciative of your time on the phone today and glad you
contacted us," Sabrina Farber wrote. "I need to tell you that we cannot
meet with you because we choose not to work with homosexuals. Best of
luck in finding someone else to fill your landscaping needs. All the
best."

Floored, the recipient of the e-mail, Michael Lord, and his partner
forwarded the message to dozens of friends. Within days the e-mail had
spread across the Internet in blogs, websites and gardening forums from
Seattle to Washington, D.C.

Farber and her husband, Todd, who've owned the landscaping company
since 1991, were bombarded with profane phone calls and e-mails. Their
online forum flooded with outraged posts.

"It blackens my mind to think that an alternative version of the KKK is
alive & kicking in the USA," read one of the milder comments.

The Farbers, declining interviews, released a statement saying they "do
not hate homosexuals" and "did not refuse service with malicious
intent.... We meant to uphold our right as small business owners to
choose who our clients are. We are humbly sorry for the hurt that it
has caused."

A Houston company's rejection of a client shocks some in the city,
where homosexuals have made strides.

By Lianne Hart, Times Staff Writer
November 6, 2006

HOUSTON - The co-owner of a landscaping company here called Garden
Guy turned down a job last month by sending an e-mail to a man who had
requested an estimate for work on his yard:

"I am appreciative of your time on the phone today and glad you
contacted us," Sabrina Farber wrote. "I need to tell you that we cannot
meet with you because we choose not to work with homosexuals. Best of
luck in finding someone else to fill your landscaping needs. All the
best."

Floored, the recipient of the e-mail, Michael Lord, and his partner
forwarded the message to dozens of friends. Within days the e-mail had
spread across the Internet in blogs, websites and gardening forums from
Seattle to Washington, D.C.

Farber and her husband, Todd, who've owned the landscaping company
since 1991, were bombarded with profane phone calls and e-mails. Their
online forum flooded with outraged posts.

"It blackens my mind to think that an alternative version of the KKK is
alive & kicking in the USA," read one of the milder comments.

The Farbers, declining interviews, released a statement saying they "do
not hate homosexuals" and "did not refuse service with malicious
intent.... We meant to uphold our right as small business owners to
choose who our clients are. We are humbly sorry for the hurt that it
has caused."

Lord and his partner, Gary Lackey, also declined to be interviewed.

The episode was a jolt to many in Houston, where gays and lesbians have
enjoyed increasing acceptance over the years.

Despite the city's conservative reputation, there's been a significant
shift in support of gay rights here, said Jack Valinski, executive
director of Pride Houston, a gay-rights group.

"The e-mail was an aberration. People may want to discriminate, but
they're not blatant and public about it like they were before."

Gay and lesbian activist Carol Wyatt said she's "not surprised by
homophobia, but that this woman thought it was socially acceptable to
write about it in an e-mail. We've come a long way in Houston in terms
of tolerance and acceptance. For this to bubble up is embarrassing for
a lot of people who care about this city."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gardenguy6nov06,1,5845758
.story?coll=la-headlines-nation