Gay Belfast News for 2007

The row over last summer's Gay Pride celebration in Belfast has reached the House of Commons. Stormont Minister Nigel Dodds has thrown his weight behind DUP protests over a placard carried at the Belfast Pride event which read "Jesus is a fag". Security Minister Paul Goggins has revealed that the Parades Commission is seeking a meeting with the march organisers following complaints about alleged breaches of its code. The DUP were outraged when one participant was seen carrying the controversial placard during the colourful August 4 event. Mr Dodds last week pursued the matter in a Parliamentary question to the Secretary of State. The party's North Belfast MP asked what steps have been taken by the Parades Commission "in relation to offensive and blasphemous placards" displayed during Belfast Pride parade. Mr Goggins, replying on behalf of the Secretary of State, said: "I have been advised by the Parades Commission that it has written to the parade organiser in relation to alleged breaches of its code of conduct at the Belfast Pride parade on 4 August 2007, and has sought a meeting to discuss the matter further. The Commission is committed to use all of the information at its disposal, including reports from police, participants, authorised officers and monitors, to inform its review of any such parade in the future."The "Jesus is a fag" placard was branded " provocative" last August by East Belfast DUP councillor May Campbell, who called for an end to further gay and lesbian parades in the city. "Belfast Pride claims to promote respect for diversity yet such a blasphemous, provocative placard was carried during the Gay Pride parade in Belfast," said Mrs Campbell. "Whether the organising committee sanctioned the placard, or simply turned a blind eye, questions must be raised by those funding such events and the Parades Commission should be looking into the need for restrictions on any further parades. It is about time those who regulate such public displays clamp down on those continually attacking Christianity and the Christian values of this country." But at the time Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association spokesman PA Maglochlainn rejected the criticism. He said: "Someone participating in the parade was holding the placard. I defend the right of that person to carry it. "To not allow someone to carry such a placard would restrict freedom of speech and religious freedom. The DUP shouldn't be so ready to shout blasphemy."

The Speaker of New York City Council, Chrissie Quinn, has said that comments from junior Northern Ireland minister that he found gay people repulsive should never have been made. During a five-day visit to Belfast Ms Quinn, is one of the most prominent lesbian politicians in the US, attacked Ian Paisley Jnr, who is the son and namesake of the Democratic Unionist First Minister. He told Hotpress magazine in May that lesbians and gay men harm society. Appointed a junior minister in the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister by his father, the department with responsibility for equality issues, he represents North Antrim in the Northern Ireland Assembly. "I am, unsurprisingly, a straight person," he said. "I am pretty repulsed by gay and lesbianism. I think it is wrong. I think that those people harm themselves and, without caring about it, harm society." Ms Quinn, who boycotted the New York St Patrick's Day parade last year because of its ban on gay participants, told the Andersonstown News: "Statements like that shouldn't be made. They are totally unhelpful and hurtful to people. It shouldn't have been said. Sometimes when people say things like that they don't realise the impact. Lots of people are affected, the people at the centre of the remarks, their family, their friends. Comments like that are personal and very painful." In September the Northern Ireland Assembly Ombudsman ruled that Mr Paisley Jnr did not break the code of conduct. His comments were heavily criticised by partners in the coalition government in Northern Ireland, including Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, who assured the gay community that Paisley Jnr was not speaking on behalf of the devolved administration. Despite calls for him apologise or resign, he defended his homophobia in a Radio 4 documentary, The House I Grew Up In, in which he claimed that his views were backed by the Bible, and he was entitled to express them. Mr Paisley Jnr was nominated for the Stonewall Bigot of the Year award 2007 but lost to the Bishop of Hereford.

Gay and Lesbian Youth Northern Ireland (Glyni) the Belfast based gay rights campaigners have clashed with Belfast's Rape Crisis Centre over plans to lower the age of sexual consent to 16. The British government has published proposals to bring Northern Ireland's legal process, under which it is illegal for 16-year-olds to have sex, into line with the rest of the UK. The centre has joined a loose alliance with the Catholic church, evangelical Protestant churches and Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party to oppose the proposed change from 17 to 16. Ranged against them are organisations representing the gay community. Eileen Calder, director of the centre, defended its decision to resist changes to the sexual offences law. 'On many issues we have been on the opposite side of the DUP and the Catholic church, in areas like abortion, where the centre is pro-choice. But on other issues, such as pornography, we have worked with the churches in campaigning against sexploitation,' she said. 'Our concern is to protect vulnerable young men and women from older sexual predators. The 17 age limit has never been used to prosecute, say, a man of 16 who gets his 15-year-old girlfriend pregnant. What we are concerned about is men in their 20s, 30s, 40s and older preying on young people. And that applies to the gay community as well as the heterosexual community.' Gay and Lesbian Youth Northern Ireland (Glyni) said it was 'illogical' to argue that there was a huge gap between someone at 17 and another at 16. Along with the Rainbow Project, a charity supporting gays, Glyni has welcomed the introduction of the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2007, reducing the age of consent to 16. Liam Larmour, Glyni's spokesman, said: 'We appreciate the concerns around sexual assaults, but would remind these agencies that any one individual is a potential victim to an assault of this kind, and age may not be a factor in this unfortunate circumstance.' He said both organisations were concerned that young people were being criminalised in the eyes of the law. 'To many young people, having sex at 16 is no different than having sex at 17, and is their choice of what to do with their own bodies. After all, you can get married at 16 with parental consent, you can smoke, choose your GP and buy your own fireworks, and for the moment can leave school too,' he said. 'You also start paying national insurance at this age, though you can't vote to determine its usage until you are 18. If we can deem 16-year-olds mature enough to make these decisions, and take part of their wages from them, why can't society trust them to make decisions about who they choose to have sex with, without being criminalised for it? Is it fair that we can determine a 16-year-old in England, Scotland or Wales to be more sensible, mature and sexually responsible than a 17-year-old in Northern Ireland?' But Whitehall faces an uphill struggle to create parity in the age of consent law across the UK. The DUP has vowed to resist any changes, though Northern Ireland Office Minister Paul Goggins does have reserve powers to impose reforms. Goggins will also face fierce resistance from the Catholic church and most Protestant churches. At the next monthly conference of the Irish Catholic bishops, a statement will be issued denouncing the lowering of the age of consent and pledging a broad-based campaign against the change. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission declined to comment on the proposed law change.

The DUP's Ian Paisley jnr is racking up votes in one 'election' battle he won't want to win. For the junior minister is in the running for one of the UK's best known gay campaigning group's gongs - at a glittering ceremony in London this November. Supporters of the Stonewall charity - which counts Lord Of The Rings' star Sir Ian McKellen as a founding member - have nominated Ian jnr as one of five candidates for the 'Bigot of the Year'. A 'rival' for the unwanted prize is motormouth Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson (above), who was ticked off by the BBC earlier this year for allegedly making derogatory references to homosexuality, including agreeing with an audience member that a car was a bit gay;. Ian Paisley jnr, of course, caused a storm of protest last May when he said that he was pretty repulsed; by homosexual people. The 40-year-old added: I think it is wrong. I think that those people harm themselves and - without caring about it - harm society. That doesn't mean to say that I hate them. I mean, I hate what they do. Politicians, including Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, condemned the controversial remarks by the junior minister in the OFMDFM. However, the Northern Ireland Assembly later found that Mr Paisley's views had not breached members' code of conduct. The 2007 Stonewall awards will be presented by John Barrowman - star of the Doctor Who spin-off TV series Torchwood - at the £100 a ticket ceremony in the A (Victoria and Albert Museum), in London on November 1. Northern Ireland Secretary of State Peter Hain is up for the Politician of the Year while Antony Cotton is nominated in the Entertainer of the Year category.

A concerned Irish dad contacted computer software manufacturers after discovering a homophobic term in Junior Scrabble 2007, a game on Nintendo DS. Zachary McAdam, from Holywood, Co Down, was playing the game with his seven-year-old daughter, when he was offered the word 'lesbo' as the solution to a five-letter anagram reports the Belfast Telegraph. The term 'lesbo' is a slang name intentionally meant to cause offence, Mr McAdam said. I looked it up on the website dictionary.com just to make sure I wasn't over- reacting and it described the word as a noun, slang, disparaging and offensive. Ubisoft, the French company that made the game, said the programme was based on words listed in the Chambers Official Scrabble Dictionary. There are over 277,000 approved words in the dictionary,they told the Telegraph. The dictionary includes words used in the English language, but that may be considered unusual or offensive. Although the games features a junior mode which removes these words from play, Ubisoft said the term 'lesbo' was not deemed to offensive because it was not listed as such by the dictionary. PA MagLochlainn, a spokeperson for the Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association, told the paper: I would never use the word. The correct term is lesbian. I am not in the least bit surprised it is included because the young men who design these games are not taught by schools that these words can be used as a form of homophobic bullying.

Gay equality organisation Stonewall said today that the ruling of the High Court in Belfast on the Sexual Orientation Regulations would not diminish the protections for LGB people in the UK. Stonewall Chief executive Ben Summerskill explained "We are delighted that the court has upheld the regulations as they currently exist across the rest of Britain." Mr Justice Weatherup said that a provision which protects LGB people from harassment when accessing goods and services should be set aside. The harassment provision is only in the Northern Ireland regulations and not those governing the rest of the UK. Christians who provide goods and services will now be allowed to express their disapproval of LGB people, such as when a gay couple try to book a hotel room. However, any gay, lesbian or bisexual person who is denied goods and services on the basis of their sexuality will be able to sue the provider for damages, the remedy laid out in the regulations. "It is a small Pyrrhic victory for the Christian fundamentalist organisations that a very small part of the regulations, that we are not convinced are actually needed, have been struck out on the basis they are not in place in the rest of the UK," said Mr Summerskill. The harassment provision was added to the Northern Ireland regulations to match protection from discrimination provision across all groups in the province. Stonewall have taken legal advice on harassment over the regulations in the rest of the UK and decided they were not necessary. The organisation said that it had not come across a single case where harassment had occurred that would not be covered by existing laws. Mr Summerskill said it was not surprising the judge said that the SORs do not affect the curriculum, as other legislation controls what is taught in schools. "The judgement says that Christian fundamentalists have to abide by the law," said Mr Summerskill.

Controversial remarks made by Ian Paisley jnr about gay people do not amount to a breach of Assembly members' code of conduct. The ruling has been made in a confidential report by the Assembly Ombudsman Tom Frawley, according to the BBC. The inquiry followed a complaint by a member of the public concerning an article in Hot Press magazine in which Mr Paisley said that homosexuals " without caring... harm society". However, in the article, published in May, he said he did not hate homosexuals. The Committee on Standards and Privileges has been discussing the report by the Ombudsman, who interviewed Mr Paisley about his remarks. Ian Paisley Jnr, who is the son and namesake of the Democratic Unionist First Minister, told Hotpress magazine in May that lesbians and gay men harm society. He was appointed a junior minister in the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister by his father, the department with responsibility for equality issues. He represents North Antrim in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Mr Paisley, 41, told Hotpress: "I am, unsurprisingly, a straight person. "I am pretty repulsed by gay and lesbianism. I think it is wrong. I think that those people harm themselves and - without caring about it - harm society. "That doesn't mean to say that I hate them. I mean, I hate what they do." His comments were heavily criticised by partners in the coalition government in Northern Ireland, including Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, who assured the gay community that Paisley Jnr was not speaking on behalf of the devolved administration. Mr Paisley Jnr has been nominated for the Stonewall Bigot of the Year award 2007. The winner will be announced at the ceremony in London on November 1st.

During PRIDE 2007 the Equality Commission is reminding anyone who believes they have been unfairly treated because of their sexual orientation that they can receive free and confidential advice from the Commission.

Equality laws protecting lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people from unfair treatment at work, in training and in further education have been in place since 2003. And this year that protection has been extended to the provision of goods, facilities and services. In spite of this many people are still reluctant to complain about unfair treatment based on their sexual orientation.

Bob Collins, Chief Commissioner of the Equality Commission said, “PRIDE is a time when members of the lesbian, gay and bisexual community celebrate their sexuality through a festival of arts and culture. But many of those celebrating are experiencing discrimination on a daily basis. Our legal advice team has spoken to 164 people about their rights under sexual orientation equality laws. We would like to hear from more lesbian, gay and bisexual people about their experiences and advise them of their rights and options.”

“We are very aware of sensitivities and privacy issues in respect of sexual orientation claims. The realities experienced by LGB individuals often cause them to conceal their sexual orientation at work, in school and in other social contexts. The Commission will publish research later this autumn which will look at the barriers to people taking cases to Tribunal or Court and will recommend strategies to help lesbian, gay and bisexual people to access their rights. We encourage people to avail of our advice services and to know their own rights.”

The Commission will have an information point at Custom House Square on Saturday 4th August and all are welcome. It can also be contacted for free and confidential advice on Tel. (028) 90 890 890. Publications, guides and more advice can be found at www.equalityni.org.

Presure was growing last night on Ian Paisley Jnr to apologise or resign as a Stormont minister over his controversial comments about gays and lesbians. Mr Paisley's position came under renewed threat after the influential weekly newspaper of the Church of Ireland launched a scathing attack, dismissing his remarks as "entirely unacceptable". In a hard-hitting editorial entitled "Apologise or resign", The Gazette regretted that Mr Paisley had not yet issued an apology for his remarks despite repeated calls to do so. "His comments are a complete disgrace to the Stormont administration and reflect sheer crassness," the editorial stated. "Not only should Mr Paisley apologise but, if he cannot, he should resign as a junior minister in the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister, the department which is charged with promoting equality in Northern Ireland," it added.

In a Hot Press interview Mr Paisley denied hating gays and lesbians - only "what they do". He said he thought that "gay and lesbianism" was "wrong" and that homosexual people harmed themselves and, without caring about it, society as well. The Gazette also regretted that last week on the BBC's 'Let's Talk' programme, Mr Paisley "compounded his offensiveness by saying that expressing regret about his words would be 'the worst thing I could do'". Gay and lesbian members of the church, as well as those of other religious outlooks, and of none, had every right to feel affronted by Mr Paisley's comments, the Gazette noted. "If not withdrawn, his words will do nothing to encourage them, or surely any of us, to have confidence in an administration of which he is part."

The editorial recalled that the Church of Ireland bishops, in their pastoral statement of September 2003, had clearly rejected the "demeaning" of homosexuals. Last night Mr Paisley declined to comment on the editorial. Meanwhile, the new Church of Ireland Bishop of Connor was described as "a team builder" at his consecration in Belfast yesterday. Bishop Alan Abernethy succeeds Dr Alan Harper, who earlier this year was elected by the House of Bishops as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. "Connor's new bishop is a team builder who shares ministry and allows those around him space to find their own giftings," said the Revd Helen Houston, preacher at the service in St Anne's Cathedral.

Ian Paisley's Stormont department will be distributing #180,000 over the next year to gay and bisexual groups, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal today. The DUP leader, who once led a "Save Ulster from Sodomy" campaign, is to take the top post next week at the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) - the Department responsible for equality issues in Northern Ireland. As part of its equality work, OFMDFM has earmarked grant-aid to support lesbian, gay and bisexual people. This funding package was launched by Secretary of State Peter Hain last year and involves the department working closely with the Coalition on Sexual Orientation, which represents a number of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender groups. A spokesman for OFMDFM said it will be providing #180,000 during the current financial year, 2007-08. Money provided under the initiative in 2006-07 totalled #50,000. The departmental spokesman added: "The funding is to enable the Coalition on Sexual Orientation to build the capacity and infrastructure of the sector to promote equality, improve community relations and the social inclusion of lesbian/gay/bisexual people." OFMDFM is also finalising a sexual orientation strategy and action plan, which is due to be published this summer. The Stormont department will be headed from next Tuesday by First Minister the Rev Ian Paisley and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness. Mr Paisley founded the "Save Ulster from Sodomy" campaign in the late 1970s in an unsuccessful bid to prevent the decriminalisation of gay sex acts in Northern Ireland. He is also the Moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church, which preaches that homosexuality is evil. Incoming DUP Culture Minister Edwin Poots faced controversy this week over grant-aid to the annual Belfast Gay Pride festival. Two Free Presbyterian Church ministers spoke out over this funding. Mr Poots, who has strongly opposed recent gay rights legislation, signalled that he would not intervene on the matter and would not have a direct input on such grant issues.He also stated that he will be required to comply with equality legislation, adding: "There is little point making decisions that will end up being overturned in a court of law."

Belfast's gay bars will become the latest to go smoke-free today, as Northern Ireland becomes the second part of the UK to enforce a smoking ban. Bans are already in place in the Republic of Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Only England remains, where LGBT people only have until the end of June to continue to smoke in enclosed public places like bars and clubs. A study carried out amongst gay and bisexual men for the NHS Smoking Helpline found that 41% of gay and bisexual men are smokers, rising to 60%for 25 to 34 year olds, well in excess of the national average of 25%. While health risk messages seem to be getting through loud and clear - 91% of respondents know that quitting will improve their health - nearly a third have never tried to give up, the research found. It also seems that the vast majority don't actually enjoy their habit, overwhelmingly confirming that they "dislike stale tobacco breath" (77%) and "dislike the smell of tobacco on clothes" (74%). When it comes to choosing a partner, smoking also proves to be a big turn off - even for other smokers. Nearly two thirds confirm that smoking makes people look less attractive, with nearly half actually preferring not to kiss a smoker. The NHS estimate that 12,000 gay men die from smoking related diseases every year, vastly more than die from HIV/AIDS.

HIT TV dramas like Life on Mars risk fuelling homophobic bullying in schools, a teachers' leader warned yesterday. The Bafta-nominated BBC1 show, set in politically incorrect 1970s Manchester, has won cult status among fans. But Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said in Belfast the show could be a bad influence. Throughout the series, screened after the 9pm watershed, hard-nosed DCI Gene Hunt used the abusive terms "fairy boy", "poof" and "bender". Speaking in Belfast, Ms Keates said: "Where that becomes a dangerous issue is where there is not a context that young people are getting a sense that that is absolutely wrong." She added homophobic bullying was still a problem in schools. Gay rights group Stonewall has also expressed concern. But the Beeb said: "DCI Gene Hunt is an extreme, tongue-in-cheek take on a stereotypical 1970s bloke." Hunt is back next year in spin-off Ashes to Ashes.

The Belfast Film Festival's same sex strand is a queer mix of movies, both old and new, that focus on very diverse aspects of gay life. Kicking off with the Irish Premiere of Jamie Babbit's Itty Bitty Titty Committee, the roster of films on show have a strong activist feel, but manage, somehow, to be light-hearted explorations of the human condition at the same time.

Itty Bitty Titty Committee is a case in point. It's a romantic comedy set amongst a radical feminist political art group. Dumped by her girlfriend, rejected from the only college to which she applied, Anna falls in with Sadie, the sexy leader of a punk-feminist group called the CIA (Clits in Action), who seek to rid the world of phallo-centric and misogynist imagery. Things start to go sour when Anna finds out there's more to Sadie than meets the eye, and the CIA discovers that all of their radical acts are quickly being undone. Babbit, who directed the 'ex-gay' comedy, But I'm a Cheerleader and has also helmed episodes of Ugly Betty and The L Word, pulls together an all-female cast in this nicely observed film, including Daniela Sea (Shortbus), Melanie Mayron (who played Melissa in the 1980s cult drama, thirtysomething) and Guinevere Turner. Producer Lisa Thrasher and Daniella Sea will be in Belfast to introduce the film and participate in a Q & A after the screening.

Turner also turns up as director and star of the accompanying short comedy, Hung, in which five members of a lesbian clique decide to wear penises for a day.

The legendary 1990 drag movie, Paris Is Burning gets a rare and welcome screening at the Festival. Lauded as the movie that thought Madonna how to 'vogue', it's a tribute to the New York drag subculture that took root as AIDS ravaged the city's gay community in the '80s. Inviting us behind the scenes at the city's secret 'drag balls' of the late 80s, the film presents an intoxicating high-camp world where contestants from rival 'houses' gather to compete in makeshift dress-up contests.

Director of aris is Burningp, Jennie Livingston's latest short film, Who's The Top, is presented in the same screening and uses two dozen Broadway dancers to tell the tale of Gwen, her distracted girlfriend, Alixe, and chief distraction on the cards, the seductive Cymon Blank.

Another classic from the cusp of the '80s and '90s, Marlon Riggs' award-winning Tongues Untied uses poetry, personal testimony, rap and performance to describe the homophobia and racism that confront black gay men. Some of the tales are troublesome: the man refused entry to a gay bar because of his colour; the college student left bleeding on the sidewalk after a gay-bashing; the loneliness and isolation of the drag queen. Yet Riggs also presents the rich flavour of the black gay male experience, from protest marches and smoky bars to the language of the 'snap diva'. Today, the film retains its radically subversive potency and genius.

French documentary, Beyond Hatred follows a murder victim's family through the ensuing court case. In September 2002, three French skinheads out looking for an 'Arab' to bash, came across Fran ois Chenu, walking through a Rheims park. They asked him if he was gay. For refusing to deny his sexuality he was severely beaten and left for dead.

The details of the crime are presented, but the real focus of the film is its aftermath and the family's efforts to find a way of coping with the loss of their beloved son and brother. Director, Olivier Meyrou chooses to tell the story largely through the words of those closest to Fran ois, giving us rare intimate insights into their heart ache, their need to understand and their desire to forgive. beyond Hatred is a gripping mystery, where motive and murderers are known, but still the answer to a more profound question is sought. The 7th Belfast Film Festival, March 22 to April 1. For more information visit www.belfastfilmfestival.org

Saturday March 24' ITTY BITTY TITTY COMMITTEE' plus HUNG Queen's Film Theatre, 9pm

Thursday 29 March 'PARIS IS BURNING plus WHO'S THE TOPO?' Queen's Film Theatre, #5.50/#5.00

The results of the elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly show big gains for Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party who tried to overturn the Sexual Orientation Regulations, which outlaw discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation when accessing goods and services. Sinn Fein, who support gay rights, has also gained seats in the elections, which should see a return to devolved government in Northern Ireland. The 'traditional' Unionist Party, the UUP, has lost 9 seats, while the DUP has gained six and Sinn Fein four. With all 108 seats declared, The DUP has 36, Sinn Fein 28, the SDLP has 16 and the Ulster Unionist Party has 18.

The Assembly has been suspended since October 2002, and the British and Irish governments are hopeful that these elections will provide a mandate to the DUP and Sinn Fein to form an executive and jointly take control of Northern Irish affairs. "Restoration of the devolved institutions represents an opportunity of historic proportions," Tony Blair and Irish premier Bertie Ahern said today in a joint statement. Since 2002 Northern Ireland has been subject to direct rule from London. Secretary of State Peter Hain imposed the Sexual Orientation Regulations on the province before the assembly was restored. In January disgruntled DUP politicians attempted to block the regulations in Northern Ireland in the House of Lords. Lord Morrow's motion was heavily defeated by peers. A vote in the 'shadow' Assembly last December over the regulations, forced by the DUP, resulted in a 39-39 split. Sinn Fein managed to get a tie by using a law which allows a party to use the vote of a deceased Assembly member if he or she has not been replaced.

The losses in the Assembly election to Sinn Fein and the DUP are bad news for the more moderate SDLP and UUP. It is also an indication that Northern Ireland remains a place of two tribes. The only truly non-sectarian party, the Alliance Party, has gained seven seats. Among the winners for the Alliance Party is Anna Lo, who was elected to represent South Belfast. She is the first ever candidate from an ethnic minority to be elected in Northern Ireland. Ms Lo is the chief executive of the Chinese Welfare Association. The Progressive Unionist Party has retained the seat held by their former leader, the late David Ervine. The Green Party won their first seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Brian Wilson was elected to represent the North Down constituency on the 10th count. "It is tremendously rewarding that the Greens will now be a permanent fixture in the political landscape of Northern Ireland," he told the BBC.

Paul Berry, the young MLA who resigned from the DUP after a newspaper carried a story about him having a gay encounter with a masseur in Belfast, contested the Newry & Armagh constituency as an Independent Unionist but polled less than a third of a quota.

The bishops of the Roman Catholic church in Ireland have joined with Protestant churches in supporting a court challenge to discrimination legislation. The Sexual Orientation Regulations were introduced in Northern Ireland in January, despite the objections of the main political party in the province, the DUP. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain used his powers to impose the legislation on Northern Ireland while the Assembly was suspended. The Christian Institute, with the support of several churches, has obtained a judicial review of the way in which the consultation process about the regulations was conducted. The process lasted six weeks, whereas in the rest of the UK it has taken six months. Now the Roman Catholic bishops have come out in support of the legal review. The BBC reports that they are concerned that the law affords equal treatment to same-sex and heterosexual marriages. Catholics believe that homosexuals are disordered. In England and Scotland, the church failed to gain an exemption from the regulations for their adoption agencies. From the end of 2008 they will have to comply with the new rules, which outlaw discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation when accessing goods and services. In the rest of the UK, the introduction of the Sexual Orientation Regulations has been delayed because of the large number of submissions to the government. The Department for Communities and Local Government have said they will become law in April. The judicial review into the consultation process in Northern Ireland will be heard at the High Court in Belfast in June.

Church group challenges new law banning discrimination of gay people (10 January 2007)

Church groups are to challenge in court gay rights legislation that would make it illegal discriminate because of their sexuality. Christian organisations say that the regulations interfere with religious belief and are seeking a judicial review of the regulations in Northern Ireland, where they took effect at the start of this month, before similar moves planned for the rest of the United Kingdom.

An attempt to scrap the regulations in Northern Ireland failed in the Lords last night by 199 to 68, a majority of 131. Critics of the regulations say that they will force guest houses, schools, churches, nursing homes, printers, adoption agencies and even wedding photographers to compromise on moral objections to homosexuality or face being sued. But Stonewall, the gay rights group, accused religious groups of creating a false picture by citing examples that would not arise or could not lead to legal action. The application for a judicial review is due to be heard in March at the High Court in Belfast. It has the potential to embarrass the Government, which is split over the introduction of legislation in England, Wales and Scotland. Ruth Kelly, the Cabinet minister responsible for equality legislation, is an active Roman Catholic. She has infuriated colleagues by delaying the regulations, ostensibly because of the volume of responses to a consultation launched in March last year. She now has just three months to publish her department’s formal response, release the regulations in draft form and secure the approval from the Commons and Lords in time for their planned introduction on April 6. The already tight timetable could be thrown into doubt if the court hearing in Belfast finds procedural flaws in the process followed in Northern Ireland and triggers similar legal moves to challenge Ms Kelly’s regulations. Among the most sensitive areas is accommodation, where operators of larger guest-houses, hotels or boarding houses could be sued for discrimination if they turn away a gay couple saying that their presence might offend other guests, or if they refuse them a room with a double bed. The Northern Ireland regulations offer an exemption to people who take in lodgers in their own homes and to small guesthouses that double as the proprietor’s home, but other forms of accommodation fall firmly within their scope. There have been a number of cases of discrimination against gay couples in tourist accommodation, boarding houses or hotels, usually in rural areas, according to Keith Etherington, a solicitor and member of the Gay and Lesbian Lawyers’ Association.

“This is where the law will bite: in the services industry, the small hotels where couples have turned up and the hotelier has not realised it was two men, or two women, and they have been turned away. If that continues, then the couple will now have a right of action against the hotel.” The regulations for Northern Ireland are particularly controversial as they introduce an additional concept of harassment caused by conduct that might create “an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment”. Ministers have said that this addition is due to the special circumstances of Northern Ireland, where equality legislation has a different process due to the sectarian tensions in the Province, and they have pledged that the regulations for the rest of Britain will deal solely with discrimination and not harassment. Ben Summerskill, the chief executive of Stonewall, said that most of the examples cited by critics were implausible or inaccurate. The regulations also had an exemption for doctrinal religious belief, he said. “It has been slightly frustrating as we have had over the past few weeks people getting exercised over things who almost appear not to have read these regulations,” Mr Summerskill added. Other supporters of the laws, including the Trades Union Congress, urged ministers not to give ground.

Businesses in Northern Ireland will be breaking the law in 2007 if they refuse services to gays, lesbians and bisexuals. New laws outlawing the denial of goods and services to people on grounds of sexual orientation came into effect in the Northern Ireland ahead of other parts of the UK. The move was welcomed by the Northern Ireland Equality Commission, but a Democratic Unionist MP attacked it for potentially criminalising business people with deeply held Christian views. "I am deeply disappointed the Government has decided to press ahead with this legislation in the face of strong opposition from Christian churches throughout Northern Ireland, including the four main denominations," said Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson. "I believe the Government is wrong and this will create major problems for Christians who may face charges of discrimination simply because they are following their consciences and deeply held religious beliefs."

It was only 25 years ago that Northern Ireland's gay rights campaigners first defeated the Reverend Ian Paisley's infamous quest to "Save Ulster from Sodomy”. In 1982 Paisley and his Free Presbyterian Church tried to stop the introduction of a gay age of consent. Supporters of the legislation argue discrimination on any grounds is wrong and must be challenged. Opponents have accused the Government of rushing the legislation through and not giving people in the North enough time to consider it. One of the clerics whipping up a storm is the Reverend Eric McComb who has said that he is prepared to go to prison rather than see the new laws come into force. Obviously, there are many gays and lesbians who'll be happy to see him behind bars. He told the Belfast Telegraph: "The Pentecostal movement, on the basis of Holy Scripture, views homosexuality as being deviant and sinful."

Bob Collins, the chief commissioner of the Northern Ireland Equality Commission which will promote and enforce the new law said the regulations would afford gays, lesbians and bisexuals the same protections offered to all ethnic minorities, men and women, people with disabilities and those with religious beliefs. "Although attitudes have been changing, we have to confront the reality that many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people face unacceptable prejudice in their everyday lives," he said. "The Equality Commission has been supporting cases brought to the Industrial Tribunal which have highlighted instances of homophobic harassment at work. "People have already brought to our attention instances where they have been turned away from hotels, bars and clubs, or denied access to transport, simply because of their sexual orientation. "From January 1 experiences like these may well be covered by the new regulations and the commission can advise and assist people who find themselves in such situations. "The case for these regulations is the same as that for all equality law. We cannot claim to respect people's dignity while tolerating discrimination against them.

Peter Tatchell, of OutRage!, condemned Christian opposition to the change in the law. "This new law is long overdue. It gives lesbian and gay people the same protection that has been given to women and black people for many decades. The disparity has been a long-standing injustice. But the religious and political fundamentalism of Northern Ireland has often made life very difficult for lesbian and gay people." He added: "The belligerent and hateful opposition by sections of the church is a very poor advertisement for Christianity. It bears no relationship to Christ's gospel of love, tolerance and compassion." "We cannot call ourselves an inclusive society unless we give equality of opportunity to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people. "We have to confront discrimination, challenge stereotypes and change attitudes, on this issue as on others, if we are to achieve a fully just and equal society."

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