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Daily Mail's Andrew Pierce: I'm called a 'homophobe' and 'Uncle Tom' for opposing equal marriage
103
New 'Gay Marriage No Thanks' group launches with 'ten good reasons' to oppose equal marriage
86
Lord Tebbit: I wouldn't have been surprised if Jimmy Savile was homosexual
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Archbishop of York: Would the Church of England rather bless 'sheep and trees' than gay couples?
83
Mixed martial arts fighter: 'Equal marriage could lead to incest, bestiality and child marriages'
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Maria Miller tables Public Order Act amendment protecting critics of equal marriage
66
Lib Dems' Baroness Williams to support anti-equal marriage 'union' amendment
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Tory Lord Mawhinney tables 'traditional marriage' amendment for equal marriage bill
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Lord Hylton tables new wrecking amendment for the equal marriage bill
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Lord Dear proposes new amendment to equal marriage bill concerning 'traditional marriage'
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Kiuru7 351
Robert in S. Kensington 342
Eddy 327
twitless 322
That There Other David 316
Jock S. Trap 306
D.McCabe 302
bobbleobble 225
Pavlos 219
Rehan 215
Am pleased to see the ET uphold the case. Also pleased to see that the Sergeant resigned (be intrigued to know if this was a “requirement to resign” which is a disciplinary tool in the police).
Time all these attitudes were rooted out of all organisations including the police
Glad Tracey West won, though it should never have been. Police like this will sadly keep people from fully trusting even though there are plenty of excellent people within the force.
The fact this vile creep felt the need to resign speaks volumes. He clearly knew he wasn’t up to the job and would have been sacked.
And the police expect us to trust them? I’m sure Sgt. Service is not the only one. I’m even more leery of anyone working for the police. I’d think twice before reporting an incident. I’m not saying all of them are like that, but this only makes me distrust them more.
@Robert
One of the reasons I left the police where I had worked for 7 years was repeated barracking from certain members of the LGBT community that the police could not be trusted – they were all the same – that they would think twice before reporting anything. I worked hard to support LGBT, ethnics groups, children etc and it felt that no matter how hard myself and others worked to improve the police – we were always told we could not be trusted. It wasnt the only reason I left, but it formed part of my decision making.
There are far more reasonable cops who are supportive of equality than there are bigots. There will always be bad apples in every walk of life.
People like Sgt Service should be rooted out.
Please remember though when you say “and the police expect us to trust them” that this undermines the very good work (and demotivates) those who are seeking equality and fairness in the police
typo – apologies – ethnic groups
I got pulled for drink driving I was under I drove off to the petrol station and the same coppers stopped me again as if it was the most normal thing. Some coppers are people who crave power and respect and willl never get it
I’m not sorry, but you were driving under the influence? You deserve that. I am glad that cop kept an eye on you, since you were fueling up and obviously no concern for other’s safety. More like you were craving alcohol and will never get respect for at least being a safe driver and calling someone to pick you up.
I had a beer and got pulled on a saturday night so f u
The police are just regular people and simply reflect the values of our wider society.
My Civil Partner is a police office and I’ve just graduated from medical school. In my experience doctors are far more prejudiced than coppers.
I moved from being a police officer to becoming a paramedic, and I have encountered more acceptance in the ambulance service and health care – but more prejudice of those who aren’t “in the service” than I ever did in the police
Stu, point taken, but I will still be guarded when it comes to any contact with the police. I’d like to see more proactive reaching out to the LGBT community than there currently is so that we can be made to feel safe and restore some trust when any of us have to have any contact with them. So far, I’m not convinced enough to make me feel willing to report any incident I might have that would require police attention.
my experience of the police over the years (most notably as a witness to a very brutal homophobic assault in Edinburgh) have been wholly positive. in my experience, cops like Sgt. Service are a dwindling minority that will soon mostly be retiring anyway..
@Concerned resident of E3 and Robert
I would hope that is the experience of concerned resident is the experience of most, but I know that it is not the experience of all (both from the things that I had to put right when I was in the police that other officers had mishandled and from problems friends have talked to me about).
I think it is crucial that the police work to build confidence in the LGBT community. I do think the police have done some amazing improvements over the years, and sometimes people only remember the bad things and find it hard to trust. That said, if we do not report incidents that are of relevance to us to the police then the police management will only see the statistics and believe there is a minimal problem in the LGBT communities and resources will not be added … We undermine ourselves if we do not report – but it is imperative that the police work harder and smarter to convince us that they are continuing to strive to improve and to root out bigots
The UK ConDem Coalition have just cut the Gay Police Association budget by 100%. Tracey was the GPA Coordinator for Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary during all of this. She stood up for LGB equality in the police and was victimised for it. This is sadly not a one-of case and reinforces the need for the Government to support the GPA in its work to eliminate discrimination against gay staff within the service.
You’ll find neanderthal police in every country, Ireland has its fair share;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-12972855
And equally there are gay supportive police and police services in every country
http://news.pinkpaper.com/NewsStory/5048/21/03/2011/police-make-bid-to-lower-hate-crime-rates-with-lgbt-awareness-day.aspx