The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) has welcomed the support for lesbian and gay rights in the Liberal Democrats’ election manifesto, but views with suspicion some of the proposals in Labour’s manifesto. It considers the Conservative stance on lesbian and gay rights to be beyond the pale.
GALHA spokesperson George Broadhead said: “We are pleased that the Lib Dems have given such uncompromising support to the civil registration of gay partnerships and to an Equality Bill that would include sexual orientation. As Humanists who oppose unfair religious privileges, we also welcome the Lib Dems’ promise to disestablish the Church of England, to reform the House of Lords so that bishops would no longer have places in it by right, and to permit the Head of State to adhere to any faith or none.
“We are disgusted, though not surprised, that Labour has decided to ditch its commitment to repeal Section 28. If it had included this in its manifesto, convention has it that the House of Lords would not oppose it. Now it seems we will be stuck with the insulting Section 28 until we get a Government with the guts to tackle it head on – and it certainly won’t be a Conservative one since this party’s manifesto pledges to retain it.
“We note that Tony Blair says that ‘promoting any particular lifestyle’ will not be permitted in schools. Yet he is proposing the creation of many more religious schools, all of which will be promoting a particular lifestyle – and one that is, in the main, inimical to gay rights. We are alarmed at the implications for fair and objective sex education in these schools, given the implacable opposition of religionists to lesbian and gay sexual relationships and lesbian and gay rights.
“It was good to see that Labour intends to carry out its obligations under the European Employment Directive to introduce legislation outlawing discrimination at work on a range of grounds – including sexual orientation, religion and belief. We have already seen in the European battle that religious bodies want to retain the right to discriminate against gay people in employment, and they are likely to renew their campaign for exclusion from this legislation when it comes before our own parliament. Mr Blair has stated that he is sympathetic to the contribution that religious groups can make, and we now wonder where his loyalty will lie. When it comes to discrimination against gay people, religious groups are unyielding and the new Labour Government (if it is elected) will have to make a choice between the rights of gay people to be free from discrimination and the ‘right’ of religious bodies to disregard those protections. There seems little room for compromise.
“We see many battles over gay rights approaching in the next Parliament and these will mainly be – as they were in the last – because of religious hostility to homosexual equality. Tony Blair will be torn in his allegiances between his desire to see fair play for minorities and his personal belief that religion is worthy of revival. We must be ready to tell him that we will not yield our right to justice to the ‘sensibilities’ of religious bigots.”