Reflecting on next Monday’s discussion of amendments to the Equality Bill in the House of Lords' Phelim Mac Cafferty' National Chair of LGBT Greens stated:
“The Equality Bill has managed to survive Third Reading in both Houses but now Religious groups' such as Christian Concern for our Nation are lobbying hard to remove amendments relating to the employment of LGBT people. They are advocating that congregations throughout the country watch a 3-Minute ‘Warning Video’ on YouTube this Sunday.
“The Christian fundamentalist lobby are using provocative and misleading language. They even attempt to claim that churches will somehow be sued for not employing homosexuals. They are inflaming the difficulties faced by the bill as it is ping-ponged between the House of Lords and Commons' to provide a smokescreen for their deep-rooted homophobia.[1]
“Christian Concern for our Nation was out in 2007 peddling myths against the Goods' Services and Facilities Regulations which made it illegal for the providers of goods and services to discriminate against lesbian and gay people.
“They want to hold onto the right to discriminate against LGB people and it's simply unacceptable that these organisations could now hold the Government to ransom over one more progressive step to lgb equality.
“The UK is the only nation' bar Iran' to have official' ecclesiastical representation in a national parliament- the idea that these vital amendments in the Equality Bill will be lost by the lobbying of the powerful evangelical wing of Christianity is awful.
“LGBT Greens say that while there is fear over use of the Parliament Act' as it would only permit application of an Equality Act next year' we call on all progressive Lords to stand up for the dropping of all exemptions relating to sexual orientation.”
1.For example, CCFON were cited in the Channel 4 Dispatches programme ‘In God’s Name’ on Monday 19th May where Director of the CCFON, Andrea Minichiello Williams claimed that children raised in same sex families would not finish school, be more likely to become drug dependent, and grow up to be confused about their gender.
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