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London: Gay couple threatened with death in violent late night homophobic assault
141
Government considers watered down same-sex marriage bill to minimise Tory rebellion
133
Tory MP Gerald Howarth: 'There are plenty in the aggressive homosexual community who want more than just same-sex marriage'
94
France: Far right activist commits suicide in Notre Dame following legalisation of equal marriage
93
Philip Hammond: 'No great demand for gay marriage and it's upsetting vast numbers of people'
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Norman Tebbit: David Cameron has 'f**** things up' with his equal marriage bill
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Tory MP Sir Gerald Howarth defends 'aggressive homosexual community' equal marriage slur
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US church blames Woolwich suspected terror killing on UK acceptance of gay people
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David Cameron: Gay teenagers will stand that bit taller following equal marriage vote
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Sir Gerald Howarth: 'I should have used 'militant' rather than 'aggressive' to describe homosexuals
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Robert in S. Kensington 711
GulliverUK 356
Mark Y 330
Iris 327
Jock S. Trap 324
D.McCabe 306
Midnighter 306
Rehan 294
Wingby 272
That There Other David 270
Nicely put!
Agreed. Some great comments there – especially the last one.
Huge shame though he wasn’t so clued-up three years ago, when Stonewall, which he helped found and still represents, was opposing equal marriage. Back then he was interviewed on camera in the Holyrood parliamentary chamber in the Festival of Politics (which was later broadcast) and asked what issues remained after Stonewall’s years of amazing success. The sole issue he could think of was school bullying.
Marriage was far from a non-issue (some of us having been campaigning for equality in marriage for 40 years or more, and it has been a scaldingly hot issue since the first marriage equality legal case in 1994), and Stonewall’s venerable representative, Stonewall being also a T group in Scotland should have also been able to list one or more of the many outstanding T issues.
Had he not even imagined being married 3 years ago?
He’s fabulous isn’t he? I wish I could express myself like that!
Simon Callow has made the case for equal marriage, and also described religion and it’s opposition to gay marriage, more eloquently than I have ever heard!
agreed ..
Thank you, Simon, and beautifully said. Up there with Stephen Fry’s recent comments.
Thank you Simon, put like a true Shakespearean actor, with eloquence and conviction.
I agree with everything Simon Callow says.
The organisations and individuals united together in the anti-equality umbrella group C4M to oppose marriage equality are actually Christian Dominionists , they seek influence or control over secular civil government through political action with the goal of establishing either a nation governed by Christians or one governed by a conservative Christian understanding of biblical law.
They want to impose their beliefs upon us through legislation.
Despite the fact that this sounds a little paranoid, this appears to be true in in a number of countries, where the vast majority of the country belong to another religion, such as Buddhism (South Korea, Singapore) or Animism (Uganda), but the government is comprised entirely, or almost entirely, of Christians.
The message is simple: we should have the right to marry the person we love. Contrary to what opponents of marriage equality are saying, we are not denying the right for someone to marry someone of the opposite sex so why should they deny us the right to marry someone of the same sex?
Excellent statement. I wonder though why the word right is in quotes in the article headline? Equal marriage is not a “right” with fingers making quote marks in the air, it’s a straightforward human right, as Simon Callow said!
I don’t think marriage is a basic human right, like clean water, adequate food, warmth, freedom from fear and persecution.
It is a human construct. A cultural formalisation of a partnership. Partnerships came first, religion came second.
Marriage was disconnected from it’s starnglehold by religion a long time ago and it has been possible to get married in a non religious ceremony for a very long time.
So Lord Carey and Anne Widdecombe are fighting a long lost battle.
Equal marriage rights are however a cultural right in a modern civilised society like ours.
The religious views on this are still from the bronze age, like most of their views. Religion is about defending privilege and power. They can see that power slipping from their grasp.
The supreme court in USA has said marriage is a right, not a privilege – this all happened when inter-racial couples wanted to marry.
Did I say it was a privilege? Read again.
The things you mention are human needs not rights. There is no right to food or warmth in the UN Declaration or the ECHR. There is a right to marriage in both however.
Does a concept have to be approved by the UN or EHCR before it is designated a “right”?
Both those groups are a bunch of layabout, incompetent pen-pushers that understand nothing and argue about everything.
There are certain inalienable rights that transcend legislation, and are simply obvious to any civilised member of the human race. Marriage is one of them.
But marriage is a human right under both; its just that both were written when homosexuality, despite having been persecuted in the preceding times that made those human rights instruments obviously essential, was also persecuted in the countries who provided the authors. Under the ECHR, states are allowed to withhold the right from some people on grounds of morality, which many mistook for meaning if their religions hated those in question, despite religious persecution obviously being banned by the convention. But both say marriage is a human right. What on earth are you arguing about, Spanner1960?
Excellently phrased!
Bravo Simon – an articulate and at the same time romantic statement – And when you do I will raise a glass to your continued happiness and love of your partner. –
Quote of the day:
”Religion, and indeed God, are both inventions of the human mind.”
thank you
”Religion, and indeed God, are both inventions of the human mind.”
Christians will turn blue with aploplexy over that statement. It is the exact opposite of what they believe relgion and god is,
Golden words. Thank you, Simon.
This story doesn’t seem to have picked up by any other news outlets.
been picked up rather.
Surprise. It might actually have some effect and swing opinion.
As everyone has said here, elegantly put and stating his case without the hysterical language that is too frequently used on both sides.
Beautifully written and right on the money.
Now, will lots and lots of other big names PLEASE making similarly BIG BOLD STATEMENTS in conservative rags like the Evening Standard, The Telegraph, and The Times. Please.
You could help change the minds of those countless old fossils who stand in our way.
i didn’t even know SC WAS gay, let alone such an eloquent spokesman for sanity on the subject of equality.
Seriously? He’s been out since 1984!
Lord Carey needs a hot holy water douche.
How about a colonic crucifixion?