Gay Humanists welcome pride support

By Tony Grew • August 12, 2006 - 0:00

Belfast Pride last weekend played host to a group of Humanists marching in solidarity with gay and lesbian people.

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Belfast Pride last weekend played host to a group of Humanists marching in solidarity with gay and lesbian people.

The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association has praised the support given by the Belfast Humanist Group, who marched in solidarity with the gay community at the Pride event.

This year's Belfast Pride was the most successful ever, with over 6,000 people taking part in the march in the city centre. A large crowd lined Royal Avenue and Donegall Place to watch the spectacle and show support.

The Humanist movement have long been supportive of LGBT rights. Their belief system affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. They reject supernatural views of reality, instead using reason and ethics to decide how to live their lives.

The struggle for gay rights in Northern Ireland has for the most part been repudiated by all political parties. Until recently the only party that even mentioned gay rights was Sinn Fein.

The support of the Humanist movement has been consistent, calling for an equalised age of consent as early as 1985.

GALHA's secretary George Broadhead said: "What a refreshing contrast this is to the religious bigotry that LGBT people in Northern Ireland have had to put up with for years from both Roman Catholic and Protestant sources.

"Ever since Ian Paisley launched his 'Save Ulster from Sodomy' campaign in 1977,

religionists have strenuously opposed LGBT rights."

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