(no subject)
While researching (again) for information on the Gay social scene in N. ireland (practically non-existent!!) I have been coming across articles and other information on what certain (narrow-minded)people who are in positions of power in this country feel about the LGBTT community......I don't have time to put them behind the cut so you get them in all their horrid glory.....some may have some good things in them but the commentary from most councillors is usually in the negative. They are also not current stories, some date back to the beginning of the year.
A Northern Ireland councillor has spoken out against government plans to give lesbians, gays and transsexuals more rights, claiming they are "perverts" with "reprobate minds".
Bert Johnston, the Democratic Unionist Party councillor for Fermanagh made his feelings clear in a letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair earlier this week in response to government proposals, including the Gender Recognition Bill.
The Bill will give more rights to transsexuals and allow them to be recognised by the gender they believe they are, rather than the physical form they have.
But Johnston claims the bill will usher in an era of "debauchery" and is keen to ensure that Northern Ireland does not introduce similar legislation.
“I am totally against the Bill as a moral issue. I don’t think God made a mistake when he made us male and female and these people who call themselves gays and the like are essentially perverts,” local newspaper the Impartial Reporter quotes Councillor Johnston as writing.
“I believe their problems exist only in their minds. It is not a biological or medical condition they suffer from. It is related - and I refer to Romans Chapter I - to the fact that the people who are most often this way inclined are mostly Godless people with reprobate minds,” he added.
Johnston says he was moved to comment on the bill after receiving warnings from the Christian Institute. He said that his Christian beliefs mean he cannot back such proposals. At present, the bill applies to England and Wales, although Johnston believes his views will be supported by others across Northern Ireland.
“I believe this bill should not be passed because, in the opinion of many, it is a retrograde move to put our beloved United Kingdom back into the dark ages of debauchery and it smacks of the creature’s law rather than of the Creator.”
“I would be surprised if there was any Northern Ireland MP who would back this Bill,” he told the newspaper.
“I think a lot of the people here still believe in the Bible and still have old values. They don’t advocate changes that might mean making a retrograde step.”
This is not the first time a councillor has made outspoken comments against LGBT rights. Last December Trowbridge Lib Dem councillor Ben Biddulph was forced to resign, after he told a newspaper that "gays are paedophiles", while Whitton councillor Hilary dance was forced to apologise, after she told a local newspaper that "God did not originally make two men to love and complement each other, neither did he create two women to love and complement each other."
Her comments sparked particular outrage because she heads the Richmond upon Thames Council's health overview and scrutiny committee. Some gay rights groups feared her opinions could colour how the committee deals with lesbian and gay specific health problems.
DUP councillor's headed a vote against Gay Marriage in North Down Council this week. The DUP's Cllr. Alan Graham expressed concerns about the governments proposed partnership legislation. The Council voted 11 votes to five in favour of Cllr. Graham's proposal against the legislation. Six councillors abstained from voting. PA MagLochlainn, a spokeperson for the Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association called the decision an "uniformed knee-jerk reaction and a sad betrayal of the community in North Down". The council's role however is purely consultative and all 26 councils have been asked to comment of the proposed legislation.
Belfast-based Lesbian Advocacy Services Initiative (LASI) has been awarded a Lottery grant of £154,395. However, the award has incensed Ballymena DUP councillor and homophobe Robin Stirling. Mr Stirling said "As an individual, I advocate tolerance as long as public decency is not outraged, my concern is that these funds could be used for something better in terms of priorities like hospitals or caring for the elderly. I consider that lifestyle to be unnatural and contrary to the teachings of the Bible. It's not normal. I know that the majority of people share my views".
Former Ulster Unionist Lord Mayor Jim Rodgers has accused the Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association (NIGRA) of "underhand tactics" after the group laid a pink wreath at the Cenotaph in Belfast City Hall. NIGRA laid the wreath yesterday to commemorate gay people who died in the two world wars. This is the third year the gay rights group has laid the wreath, which is in the shape of a pink triangle to represent the symbol gays were forced to wear while imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps. Ceremonies to lay the pink wreath have been taking place in the rest of the UK for a number of years. NIGRA lays its wreath one week ahead of Remembrance Sunday to avoid any potential clash with the official wreath-laying ceremony. President of NIGRA, P.A. MagLochlainn said: "All we are doing is remembering a group of people who would otherwise be forgotten. These people were innocent victims who were targeted just because of their sexuality." But former mayor, Jim Rodgers said: "What this group has done is illegal; there has been no consultation with council or with the Royal British Legion which is the proper way these things should be done. If they want to take part in Remembrance Sunday then they should apply in the proper way rather than stooping to these underhand tactics. I have no doubt that council staff will spot this illegal wreath and remove it." 15,000 gay people lost their lives in Nazi Death camps, Jim Rodgers should think about that.
We also have a lovely link that has been so easily clicked on by many people trying to access the Belfast Pride site. It comes up as a Pride site but when you click on it....you get a lovely litany of abuse against LGBTT people along with accusations of sodomy and perversion.....here is the link for those of you that want to anger yourself further after reading any of the above or ignore it altogether....www.stoptheparade.com
Sorry this is so long but I'm p**ssed off with the 'supposed' Christian people that spout most of thsi...I know plenty of Chrstians who would be just as disgusted as I am with all of this hate.
Anyway...onto nicer things.
A Northern Ireland councillor has spoken out against government plans to give lesbians, gays and transsexuals more rights, claiming they are "perverts" with "reprobate minds".
Bert Johnston, the Democratic Unionist Party councillor for Fermanagh made his feelings clear in a letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair earlier this week in response to government proposals, including the Gender Recognition Bill.
The Bill will give more rights to transsexuals and allow them to be recognised by the gender they believe they are, rather than the physical form they have.
But Johnston claims the bill will usher in an era of "debauchery" and is keen to ensure that Northern Ireland does not introduce similar legislation.
“I am totally against the Bill as a moral issue. I don’t think God made a mistake when he made us male and female and these people who call themselves gays and the like are essentially perverts,” local newspaper the Impartial Reporter quotes Councillor Johnston as writing.
“I believe their problems exist only in their minds. It is not a biological or medical condition they suffer from. It is related - and I refer to Romans Chapter I - to the fact that the people who are most often this way inclined are mostly Godless people with reprobate minds,” he added.
Johnston says he was moved to comment on the bill after receiving warnings from the Christian Institute. He said that his Christian beliefs mean he cannot back such proposals. At present, the bill applies to England and Wales, although Johnston believes his views will be supported by others across Northern Ireland.
“I believe this bill should not be passed because, in the opinion of many, it is a retrograde move to put our beloved United Kingdom back into the dark ages of debauchery and it smacks of the creature’s law rather than of the Creator.”
“I would be surprised if there was any Northern Ireland MP who would back this Bill,” he told the newspaper.
“I think a lot of the people here still believe in the Bible and still have old values. They don’t advocate changes that might mean making a retrograde step.”
This is not the first time a councillor has made outspoken comments against LGBT rights. Last December Trowbridge Lib Dem councillor Ben Biddulph was forced to resign, after he told a newspaper that "gays are paedophiles", while Whitton councillor Hilary dance was forced to apologise, after she told a local newspaper that "God did not originally make two men to love and complement each other, neither did he create two women to love and complement each other."
Her comments sparked particular outrage because she heads the Richmond upon Thames Council's health overview and scrutiny committee. Some gay rights groups feared her opinions could colour how the committee deals with lesbian and gay specific health problems.
DUP councillor's headed a vote against Gay Marriage in North Down Council this week. The DUP's Cllr. Alan Graham expressed concerns about the governments proposed partnership legislation. The Council voted 11 votes to five in favour of Cllr. Graham's proposal against the legislation. Six councillors abstained from voting. PA MagLochlainn, a spokeperson for the Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association called the decision an "uniformed knee-jerk reaction and a sad betrayal of the community in North Down". The council's role however is purely consultative and all 26 councils have been asked to comment of the proposed legislation.
Belfast-based Lesbian Advocacy Services Initiative (LASI) has been awarded a Lottery grant of £154,395. However, the award has incensed Ballymena DUP councillor and homophobe Robin Stirling. Mr Stirling said "As an individual, I advocate tolerance as long as public decency is not outraged, my concern is that these funds could be used for something better in terms of priorities like hospitals or caring for the elderly. I consider that lifestyle to be unnatural and contrary to the teachings of the Bible. It's not normal. I know that the majority of people share my views".
Former Ulster Unionist Lord Mayor Jim Rodgers has accused the Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association (NIGRA) of "underhand tactics" after the group laid a pink wreath at the Cenotaph in Belfast City Hall. NIGRA laid the wreath yesterday to commemorate gay people who died in the two world wars. This is the third year the gay rights group has laid the wreath, which is in the shape of a pink triangle to represent the symbol gays were forced to wear while imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps. Ceremonies to lay the pink wreath have been taking place in the rest of the UK for a number of years. NIGRA lays its wreath one week ahead of Remembrance Sunday to avoid any potential clash with the official wreath-laying ceremony. President of NIGRA, P.A. MagLochlainn said: "All we are doing is remembering a group of people who would otherwise be forgotten. These people were innocent victims who were targeted just because of their sexuality." But former mayor, Jim Rodgers said: "What this group has done is illegal; there has been no consultation with council or with the Royal British Legion which is the proper way these things should be done. If they want to take part in Remembrance Sunday then they should apply in the proper way rather than stooping to these underhand tactics. I have no doubt that council staff will spot this illegal wreath and remove it." 15,000 gay people lost their lives in Nazi Death camps, Jim Rodgers should think about that.
We also have a lovely link that has been so easily clicked on by many people trying to access the Belfast Pride site. It comes up as a Pride site but when you click on it....you get a lovely litany of abuse against LGBTT people along with accusations of sodomy and perversion.....here is the link for those of you that want to anger yourself further after reading any of the above or ignore it altogether....www.stoptheparade.com
Sorry this is so long but I'm p**ssed off with the 'supposed' Christian people that spout most of thsi...I know plenty of Chrstians who would be just as disgusted as I am with all of this hate.
Anyway...onto nicer things.