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Government considers watered down same-sex marriage bill to minimise Tory rebellion
133
London: Gay couple threatened with death in violent late night homophobic assault
127
Tory MP Gerald Howarth: 'There are plenty in the aggressive homosexual community who want more than just same-sex marriage'
82
Philip Hammond: 'No great demand for gay marriage and it's upsetting vast numbers of people'
73
Bret Easton Ellis slams GLAAD and says gay basketball player Jason Collins treated like a 'baby panda'
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Government to consider abolishing civil partnerships or opening up to straight couples
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US Radio host: Gay news websites are covered with porn that is turning teens gay
62
Lib Dem MP Sarah Teather tells Catholic newspaper 'I never went into politics to tackle equal marriage'
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Tory MP David Burrowes: 'I'm not anti-gay; I'm just pro-marriage'
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Tory MP David Burrowes: I only want a referendum on same-sex marriage so I can defeat the government's bill
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Robert in S. Kensington 820
Eddy 403
Iris 286
Jock S. Trap 278
rapture 250
Rehan 244
Ray123 230
D.McCabe 217
bobbleobble 215
Wingby 215
I wonder what Sharon James’ sex life is like. She seems a little wooden!
Mrs. James has obviously learned well from the vile, lying “religious right” in the States.
This horrendous woman & the rest of the vile neocon religious Coalition for Marriage keep harping on that gay marriage wasn’t in the Tory manifesto, well neither were NHS reforms either darling. when she smiles i feel sick, but she wasn’t smiling so much when Paxman asked her about her bigotry.
Thought is though, same sex marriage was mentioned in the Tories equalities manifesto so she is simply incorrect,
Yes, her smile turned to a very sinister grimace.
That was a shoker by BS back in 2009 but we’re now in 2012 and things have moved on a bit. Ask BS the same question at the end of this nasty debate on gay marriage and I suspect most LGBT will want to throw their CP ceritifcate down the toilet..
Can’t believe this woman is slagging off countries who have brought in SS marriage and I already call my “partner” husband and guess what we call ourselves married (no such word as CPed) so you can keep the words husand and wife , bride and bridegroom , mother and father,,,we already use them!
Thanks for letting us know the UK is a tolerant country and for accepting us but we already knew that…Ms James , you and coaltion friends are the only intolerant ones left in the UK…
Jon Snow
Sorry – weirdo post – can’t operate this equipment!
she seems to have missed the point, we want equal rights, and as you say we already use the same terms when talking about our spouse and family, legally we are not given the same rights as married people. what is so hard for them to understand. I always find it amusing that they bring up bigomy and such, are there people who are really looking for extra problems, having one spouse is enough for most of us, I love the man I am married (C P) to and I dont want anyone else in my marrage but would love to give children a good loving home.
let these idiots humiliate themselves. my marriage is none of their business. and the false flag argument about threesoms should not be dignified
I think any bloke married to Ms James deserves another wife, a nice one!
I really hope Stonewall realise how much they set this campaign back, and I still want to know why as apparent representatives of LGBT people they did damn all to support same-sex marriage until it became an inevitability. Ben Summerskill is a traitor to his kind and should be summarily sacked.
Ben Summerskill and Stionewall caused incredible damage to the fight for marriage equality.
I cannot believe that he has not been sacked.
He truly is an appalling leader for Stonewall.
They actually only supported it because their patrons Ian McKellan et al gave them a real dressing down about it.
So, what does BS really know about LGBT stuff? I agree he should be sacked. They seem to only represent the views of those in their office!!
Summerskill is a traitor ,a gay uncle tom . Too weak to be in a position that represents a persecuted minority who have inferior status in this country.
Really? You are judging a man who has been dedicated to our community for decades on one mis-fired opinion and one which he acknowledges was his own and not Stonewalls – your character assassination is spiteful and as bigoted as our anti-gay apponents. Shame on you.
JD
He clearly made a huge mistake and it is entirely understandable that there is a strong feeling of hurt amongst some LGBT people for his astonishing and damaging error.
That said, I do think he is rehabilitating himself on this issue. His comments to the media in recent weeks have been some of the most sound and punchy.
Makes sense though and he has a good point.
Summerskill clearly never asked anyone elses opinion on equal marriage before stating Stonewall’s stance and refused to change it until a poll showed 99% of gay people demanded equal rights.
Stonewall should be out in front looking after us, not being dragged there
If we have to do this for everything to achieve equality then Stonewall isn’t even needed
@Tigra07
Absolutely agree with you that he got it totally and utterly wrong. I do think it was amazing that he was not required to resign at the time.
That said, he is still in post. He is doing a stunning job in his media coverage currently.
I hope he has learnt from his mistakes.
You are wrong, Summerskills prime dedication is to his fat salary, otherwise he would have resigned by now , for creating this current debacle, by his bigotry against lgbt equality on a public platform, whilst claiming to represent our better interests. Your apologetic stance for this treachery is an indictment that you have more compatibility with equality/civil rights opponents and hence you should reserve any shame for your own misguided view.
OOooooooooh! Treachery! Found it out, have you? Conspiracy theorizing going well? One cock-up and ZAP? What color is the sky on the world of which you are God/Emperor?
@reed ,What a stupid, lisping comment, grow up! if you view someone who has a view different to you god-like , then you has serious issues.
Opposing marriage equality was not a ‘cock-up’.
It was massively damaging and utterly indefensible.
And the bigots at C4M are now using this against our rights.
If Summerskill has any integrity he will accept that he is unsuitable to remain as head of Stonewall, and he will resign.
@reed “have”
@dAVID, agreed , it is indefensible what summerskill did, and any apologists on his behalf are misguided by condoning his bigotry on equal marraige. summerskill proclaims to represent furthering equality for lgb communities but he is responsible (due to his complete lack of insight into what the lgb communities seek) as a basis for the far right to deny us equality.
I suspect far more conservatives/christians have signed the petition for marriage equality than gays have signed her petition , although Iwasn’t aware you have to give your sexual orientation details when you signed her petition.
Admittedly still mystified why any gay person should be against marriage equality…
From what I can deduce, they see that ‘marriage = church’ and ‘church = homophobic bigotry’ – personally, I don’t think it’s anywhere near as cut and dried as that in reality though.
Interesting that Paxo didn’t really bother with impartiality and seemed very much to be on our side.
Is there a link to Paxo’s interview? I’ve not seen it, and can’t find it with a simple google search.
Try the BBC iPlayer.
I thought it very irresponsible the Peter Bone, an MP, raised the 80% support figure from that Catholic Voices poll, as a way to justify this point of view. Would have been glad to see someone challenge him regarding this
Damn, sorry – I meant John Snow. (And try C4 on Demand.) Paxo was Newsnight, of course.
Great performance, Conor. Thank you.
That ‘Threesome’ argument is total rubbish. Nobody is allowed to marry two people. So no discrimination there. But at present, depending on sexual orientation, some people are allowed to marry and some are not, and that is unfair
PLEASE VOTE HERE TOO:
Within the midst of an offensive report in the Telegraph there is a poll being run on marriage (please vote and demonstrate the strength of feeling!).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9147559/Gay-couples-are-just-lifelong-friends-says-Catholic-leader.html?
Within the article, the RC church are at it again and saying gay relationships are merely friendships. Devalue, dehumanise, substandard treatment – the usual rhetoric of the Archbishops.
PLEASE VOTE IN THEIR POLL FOR EQUAL MARRIAGE!
please guys make sure you vote on this site too, we need to get the message across that marrage is for everyone, and add the link to your fb page
The YES vote is catching up with the NO vote (16:32 )
Yes, anyone regardless of sexual orientation should be allowed to marry 36.76% (5,512 votes)
Yes, but not in church 10.93% (1,639 votes)
No, marriage should be kept between a man and a woman 52.31% (7,845 votes)
So that, so far 7151 for and 7845 against.
Lets keep it going, guys and girls ….
Send the link to your friends, partners, link it to your facebook. Lets show the bigots at the Telegraph that they are wrong!
Civil Partnerships do not give all the rights of Marriage, having Same-Sex Marriage will strengthen the institution of Marriage, giving Gay couples Equality in their lives of those that wish to form a lifelong commitment. Civil Partnerships are not valid outside England and Wales, not valid for funeral or burial rights within the church, as Equality laws do not apply. All churches denominations that wish to conduct Same-Sex Marriage should be allowed to do so, and not refused within the consultation by the government.
It should come as no surprise that there are some gay people who don’t want marriage. There are plenty of heterosexual people who feel the same way. No one should be forced to marry. Marriage equality is about choice and equal opportunity. As for Stonewall, even though his stance on marriage equality has changed, Summerskill’s previous anti-marriage position continues to prove a liability to the campaign. Thanks, Stonewall. With you on our side we don’t really need the bigots.
This woman seems to have things wrong, I have read complaints from gay people who have found their names added to this website when They did not want it. This woman has a one track mind and would not know Christ if he stood right next to her. I wonder if she is still on her first partner, because correct me if I am wrong, but the white wedding dress is for virgins and there is suposed to be no sex before marrage, if there is they are suposed to be stoned to death.
Just to be pedantic, the association of white with wedding dresses is a 19c convention; women were supposed to have no sexual experience before marriage; and I thought stoning was for adulteresses only (I may be wrong here), ie women who are the property of one man who have sex with another man (there’s plenty of extramarital sex permitted in the OT, but not on the part of women who’re married).
Stoning is also reserved for the bride, if it is found that she is NOT a virgin before the marriage.
How this is ascertained, one dreads to think.
Thanks Dr R, I didn’t know that.
Very disappointing that the media is giving a platfiorm to religious extremists like the Coalition for Marriage.
Isn’t this the group that continually falsifies their research and tells barefaced lies.
Now that homophobic extremists like the Coalition for Marriage are using Ben Summerskill#’s despicably homophobic campaign against marriage equality at the 2010 LibDem Conference, against our campaign for equality, they have no choice but to sack him.
With Summerskill still the leader of Stonewall, the bigots will use his abhorrent betrayal of our community against us.
I know that SUmmerskiill likes his 6 figure salarym, but if either he or Stonewall had an ounce of integrity then they would realise that his continued presence in Stonewall is now damaging our campaign for equality.
Ben Summerskill needs to be sacked.
Today!
I wonder how long it will take Summerskill to respond to this vile woman? I see mad cow disease is alive and well.
The government has always said that this consultation would be about how to introduce same sex marriage not whether or not to, the representative Coalition for marriage was being disingenuous and deliberately misleading as always, any “facts” studies or statistics cited by the Coalition for marriage must be examined very closely for verification.
Thank you Ben Summerskill for feeding lines to the opposition back in 2008 that are being used against LGBT’s now.
There was a similar bunfight over at Newsnight as well:
http://goo.gl/j8IaS
During which Archbishop Vincent Nichols describes same-sex couples as just “lifelong friends”:
http://goo.gl/mlTIA
Git.
AS many of you will know it takes a lot to render me speechless.
I am just so shocked by this blog I have just read. Its incredibly offensive. Its wrong. Its lying. Its deceiving.
Ok I found some words but….
Please read and see the depths that the extremists are ploughing to now!
http://archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.com/2012/03/consummation-of-gay-marriage.html?
Think I need a cold shower after that one. It’s like a same sex Mills & Boon over there :P
You should see some of the stuff on the Telegraph comments sections recently.
Endless sexually insecure ranting about faggots, dykes, queers, poofs, perverts, bummers, arse bandits, brown hatters and – I kid you not – one guy (who had given it more detailed thought than you might think was necessary for someone who was claiming to be “normal”) describing gay sex as like defecating into your hand and then masturbating.
Just what is going on in their heads?
A psychologist could collect enough material from a single thread to keep him in research grants for years.
The repression, the repression……..
Jon Snow was wearing pink socks :-)
I’d like to say something profound, but in this instance I’ll happily settle for:
“Ha, b*tch got OWNED, yo!” :)
Why do people always go to Stonewall for comments? And why did they not support this? I think this shows how Stonewall do not work properly for LGB rights, and do not include the T either which undermines their work. I think Ben’s comments about gay marriage will forever haunt them.
Which is why he needs to be sacked.
Now that Stonewall allegedly supports equality, why is it still being lead by someone who was actively campaigning against our community?
“If two men get married the concept of husband and wife will be lost?” What
is the concept of husband and wife? What does that even mean? The opponents
are trying to make this debate about ‘values’ and ‘family’ rather than
making everybody have the same rights. However other than simply repeating
those words in an abstract way they have offered no tangible explanation of
what their ‘fears’ are nor evidence to support them.
Threesome marriges? Is she for real. Where are the facts? Wasn’t it Princess Diana who once said that there are three people in her marriage during the adulterous affair of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles?
I love the presenter here! You can see he is pro-gay. We have developed beyond needing to fight for human rights, as it was said “its not if but how”
Conor Marron I found to be inept. Someone with more knowledge and authority would have been far better to debunk that awful woman’s statements,. The moderator did a far better job in my view. Since Summerskill can take some responsibility for this backlash, then maybe they should have had him on to counter this woman.
Shes disgusting! Equality for everyone!
She was on news night last night….had a full debate for 50 minutes….i still cant get a grasp of it all……
Yes, I saw that. She’s not too bright, can’t even produce one factual shred of evidence that marriage has been affected in countries where same-sex marriage is allowed. If she and others like her cared so much for the safety and preservation of marriage, why isn’t she and her hate group, the Coalition for Marriage attacking the heterosexual adulterers, especially those who’ve had a religious marriage.
So, I have to wonder… She keeps repeating that a portion of the Gay Community isn’t interested in ‘Gay Marriage’ as justification of not allowing it. Aren’t there heterosexual couples not interested in marriage? If so, does that mean that marriage should be removed completetly?
MARRIAGE IS NOT OWNED BY ANY RELIGION. I don’t understand how difficult that is to understand.
I’m a lesbian and I personally want a civil marriage someday. I would love to make that commitment to a woman, spend the rest of my life with her, be able to call her my wife and have it be true. There are some heterosexual couples that don’t want marriage, but we don’t stop heterosexual marriages because of that, I also don’t see how me spending the rest of my life with the woman of my dreams, my soulmate, would destroy someone else’s marriage, as it doesn’t affect them at all.
You should see the number of comments on this discussion forum 3308(!) and many of them vitriolic racist, xenophobic and homophobic comments. There are a few great gay people giving them as good as they get. I am finding it quite entertaining with my popcorn watching it! Would love to see Will, Iris, Spanner or anyone else joining in!
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100144707/gay-marriage-this-is-a-battle-the-churches-will-lose-and-it-will-be-a-messy-business/?#disqus_thread
I understand when she left the studios, her broom stick had been clamped!
Poor woman was clearly out of her depth and was clutching at straws. I get a feeling Jon Snow could be on our side in his views