Tomorrow the Church of Ireland starts its celebration of 150 years since it was disestablished. There will be a service in the National Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Patrick, Dublin. What has surprised me is the choice of preacher … Continue reading 150 years since disestablishment: can the Archbishop of Canterbury learn from Ireland?
So apparently it is Pride Month. And so the BBC have published a story about the history of gay rights in the UK. Unfortunately, it is ignorant of the facts in many places. Law changed in 1967 (in England & … Continue reading England-centric BBC get Pride month article badly wrong
On first sight this looks like a lovely commemorative coin – it’s even roughly similar to that of the UK 50 pence piece – but on closer inspection there are so may problems it is hardly believable. It’s supposed to … Continue reading Equal marriage celebrated across the UK, er GB, and Ireland…
Andrew McFarland Campbell explains that when families reject their LGBT members, gay clubs like Orlando’s PULSE are so important to the LGBT community. Continue reading Gaudy shirts and ill-fitting jeans: a response to Orlando
With the historic #section37 bill & the fantastic @intolgbt group tonight after its passing. pic.twitter.com/JTgD0YFg5L — Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (@AodhanORiordain) December 2, 2015 Last night, the final stage in the progress of An Bille um Chomhionannas (Forálacha Ilghnéitheacha), 2013—Equality (Miscellaneous … Continue reading Oireachtas passes law to make it illegal to discriminate against LGBT teachers
The number of homophobic incidents recorded by the Police Service of Northern Ireland has jumped by 12% in the last year, according to figures released in August. Catríona Ruane MLA, of Sinn Féin, raised the issue of homophobic crime at … Continue reading Homophobic incidents in the North of Ireland up by 12%
With today’s third reading in the House of Lords, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill passed its hurdles in their Lordships House to pass into law. The final hurdle is not quite here but should not be too long. All … Continue reading Equal Marriage Bill passes the Lords – society has matured and will do so again.
Following this afternoon’s vote in the debate on the third reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, Christopher Lovell has expressed his disappointment at Tim Farron’s “abstention” today. It seems that Mr Lovell who lives in Leeds, not in Tim’s constituency, feels that because there is no vote recorded by Tim Farron in today’s debate, Tim abstained. I counter that this is not true. Tim did in fact, quite clearly not vote. It has been suggested by Erskine May that there is a procedure in Parliament to register an abstention: voting in both lobbies (Erskine May, Parliamentary Practice, 23rd edition, 2004, p412).
A House of Commons Briefing Paper, Divisions in the House of Commons, SN/PC/06401 states
If fewer than 40 Members, including the Speaker and the tellers, participate in a division, it does not meet the quorum required. The House then moves on to the next business, and the subject of the division is postponed until the next sitting day. Members who wish to defeat a particular item of business may engineer a division and then stay out of the lobbies, as they can thus render the division inquorate. Continue reading “Disappointed with Tim Farron or Naomi Long? I’m not…”
This afternoon we have seen the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill pass its third reading in the House of Commons. Many people start claiming that Equal Marriage is home and dry. This is quite far from the case. The Bill … Continue reading We’re being left behind in Northern Ireland: why I am a proud Liberal Democrat
In 1972, Morty was punched, kicked and thrown down an escalator during a gay rights protest at the New York City Hilton Hotel. Watching the attacks on the evening TV news was Morty’s mother Jeanne Manford. She was outraged that police officers appeared to ignore the assault. Following this Jeanne wrote a letter to the New York Post, with one sentence that jumped out. “My son is a homosexual and I love him.” Tom Owens writes: Manford’s son invited her to march with him in the Christopher Street Liberation Day March in June 1972. She agreed, accompanying him to the parade … Continue reading ‘I loved him. He was my son.’ A mother’s love for her gay son honoured 40 years later.
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