Comments on: Relate welcomes tribunal ruling on Christian's claims of discrimination

By: M Pryce

M Pryce — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:31:51 +0000

It shoud all be quite simple!
A genuine disabled person, then jobs should be modified where possible.
race, religion, sexuality or general narrow mindedness, then you do the job you are being paid to do or leave!

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By: Ric

Ric — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:14:54 +0000

what is next? sorry can't serve you alcohol in a supermarket, my religion is against alcohol? Sorry my sexuality allows me to not serve biggots! I'm sorry but this kind of approach by "people of religion" stinks of the days of apartheit (spelling?) We may have our views or beliefs but we have the right to force them on others or to discriminate those that don't agree with us.

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By: andy

andy — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:55:35 +0000

it's difficult not to dislike christians, though obv. not all of them are as self righteously pompous as the lillian ladeles, gary macfarlanes and their supporters…Andrea Williams says their "conscience" needs protecting. That is BULL. Apart from being gay, I'm vegetarian, that's because i think killing animals, and the suffering endemic in the meat rearing industries is wrong. So i don't eat meat. if your conscience tells you homosexuality is wrong, you should ideally NOT have sex with people of the same gender. But i don't have to right to try and stop other people eating meat, and if i worked in a restaurant or food shop i wouldn't have the right to refuse to serve meat eating or meat buying customers. It really is that SIMPLE. You can't be a registrar or a relationship counsellor if your "conscience" means you cannot serve customers, just as i wouldn't want to be a chef or a waiter in a restaurant where meat was served. it's a question of deciding what's more important your conscience or your job. In the olden days Christains preffered to be thrown to the lions rather than give up on their "conscience", now they won't even resign gracefully when they are unable to do the work they are paid for. pretty pathetic bunch if you ask me….

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By: matthew

matthew — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 10:12:12 +0000

its bad but I've seen a lot of mislead Christmas people give up on what they wanted to do because they found it hard and saying god did not give me the brains! some peoples view of religion is bad for their life to be honest

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By: Terry Sanderson

Terry Sanderson — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 08:53:52 +0000

Andrea Williams of the Christian Legal Centre says that the equaolity laws are in a "confused state". No they are not. They have been vey consistent – she has lost all the cases she has brought to court. Why don't these Christians realise that their "freedom" does not give them the right to take other people's rights away?

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By: Del

Del — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 02:29:42 +0000

McFarlane complains he does not know how to deal with his religious prejudices to perform his job – is he not a therapist? Isn't that what he does? I'm glad the tribunal saw through his attempted abuse of the law.

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By: Iris

Iris — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:03:51 +0000

"The law is in a confused state; in the case of Lillian Ladele, the Islington Registrar, the Court held that Christian belief must give way to the rights of same sex couples; but in the case of Gary McFarlane there is a finding of wrongful dismissal.The courts and public are confused"

No, they're not. And if they are, it's because you are wholly misrepresenting the cases. No-one is saying that LGBT rights trump religious rights. These cases aren't about 'who's best'. They are about people, either through ignorance or malice, trying to justify their bigotry with religion.
You can believe what you want, but you're not allowed to use your beliefs to discriminate against others in your work. Your religious beliefs ARE protected because if someone refused to serve you because you were a Christian, they would be disciplined in just the same way as these Christians have been when they've refused to serve LGBT people. See? It's fair and equal. But maybe that's the bit you don't like….

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