A server at a popular Italian eatery in Kansas was shocked to find that customers had left behind an anti-gay message on their bill in lieu of a tip.
As KMBC 9 News reports, there wasn't a problem with the waiter's service. The Carrabba's Italian Grill server, who has not been named in the media, returned to the table after the customers had left, to find a shocking message scrawled on the back of the credit card receipt.
“Thank you for your service, it was excellent," the customers had written, according to Pitch and The New Civil Rights Movement. "That being said, we cannot in good conscience tip you, for your homosexual lifestyle is an affront to GOD. Queers do not share in the wealth of GOD, and you will not share in ours.
The customers continued: "We hope you will see the tip your fag choices made you lose out on, and plan accordingly. It is never too late for GOD’S love, but none shall be spared for fags. May GOD have mercy on you.”
A number of patrons at the Overland Park, Kan. restaurant have rallied in support of the 20-year-old server, whose mother apparently also works at the Carrabba's Italian Grill franchise, according to KCTV. Among them was Dr. Marvin Baker, a local pastor, and his partner, who asked to be seated in the waiter's section when they visited for lunch this week.
Representatives for the restaurant have reportedly decried the customers' move, saying the company doesn't tolerate discrimination from staff members or guests. As for the server himself, he has been surprisingly tight-lipped since the incident, releasing a statement cited by a number of media outlets which read simply: "The offers to help pay me back are much appreciated, but not at all needed. I'd prefer to let my work ethic and my service do the talking, nothing else."
Earlier this year, a lesbian couple dining at a North Carolina cafe was handed a letter from the restaurant's owner that decried homosexuality as being against God's will.