A gay couple in the UK have been left "speechless" after being denied entry to a bar, with a security guard allegedly telling them they had to be "in a mixed-sex couple".
Patrick Hannon and Jake Archer claim to have been turned away from Jake's Bar in Leeds, with Archer sharing details of the incident on social media.
In a tweet directed to the bar, Archer wrote: "I have just been turned away from your bar for not being ‘in a mixed-sex couple’."
He continued: "Don’t you think this is discrimination? If I was with a girlfriend this would have been fine as you only allowing mixed male and female groups in?"
Several other similar complaints have been made on Trip Advisor, with one local writing: "Tried to visit Jake's bar tonight. I have been here before with no problem but tonight I went to the venue with my boyfriend. I was told they were only letting mixed couples in and so were turned away. The bouncer had no regard for the fact we were in a same-sex couple."
He added: "I would have understood if we were in a large group of males but it was just the two of us. This is totally not acceptable in my eyes."
Another man calling himself Thomas B said he was left "outraged" by a "homophobic bouncer" at the same bar last year, writing: "I was with my partner and we were refused entry for not being in a mixed couple."
Manager of Jake's Bar Paul Lane told the BBC that the venue has a "strict equality and diversity policy" and that an investigation would be launched into the "external door team".
"We have many customers who identify with LGBTQIA+ communities who frequent the bar regularly," he said.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for LGBTIQ+ rights organisation Stonewall shared a statement on the incident, saying: "It's against the law to discriminate against someone because of their sexual orientation in any circumstance, including entry to a bar."
The statement continued: "It's unacceptable that one in six LGBT people (17%) who visited a café, restaurant, bar or nightclub in the last 12 months have been discriminated against based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity in Britain."
Archer said that he wanted to stand up to the bar to show that discrimination is unacceptable.
