NO GAYS, NO LESBIANS | NO RETURN TO 1960s

My response to the current consultation.

Discrimination Law Review Team
Sexual Orientation Consultation
Women & Equality Unit
DTI
1 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0ET

Dear Sir or Madam,

Re: Access to Goods, Facilities & Services – Sexual Orientation

I am writing to express my support for legislation to outlaw any and all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. It is not appropriate in 2006 that sexual orientation should be a basis to isolate people from goods, facilities and services. Furthermore, there should be no exceptions for religious organisations, or the Government will be guilty of supporting cultural relativism.

This letter is written not from a secular point of view. I am a practising Christian who believes in an open and inclusive Gospel, which affirms the validity and acceptability of loving same-sex relationships. Consequently, I do not believe ANY religion should be offered protection to discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation or faith. Exceptions will only foster deeper isolation for lesbians, gays and bisexuals (LGB) from their faith communities and discriminate against LGB people in the provision of goods and services provided by faith organisations.

The Government must recognise the continuing serious problem of homophobia (highlighted especially in our schools by the recent Interim Report of the Equality Review, headed by Trevor Phillips), is fuelled by religious condemnation and the refusal of many “faith” leaders to accept and “…respect the dignity and worth of each person,” for which Ministers call in their foreword to ‘Getting Equal’.

I strongly agree that access to premises should be included and that the commercial provision of B&Bs, guest houses or hotel facilities should also be included, with no religious exceptions. It is clearly unacceptable that owners of commercial premises should be allowed to discriminate on the grounds of the dislike of a client’s beliefs. If such premises are exempted, then the signs of the 1960s saying: ‘No Blacks, No Irish’ can make a return in the guise of ‘No Gays, No Lesbians’.

It is also essential to include all schools – including faith schools – within the regulations. A faith school should not, for instance, be entitled to reject a pupil because of his/her own orientation or that of his/her parents. Moreover, no progress will be made in attacking the huge, damaging and continuing problem of homophobia, and its impact in bullying and undermining young people who are struggling with a possibly variant orientation, unless all schools are included. It is an oxymoron to suggest homophobic bullying can be tackled when the school preaches that gay relationships are unnatural.

The LGB community should feel an equal part of a diverse society, not on the sidelines of certain parts of it. By allowing any and all religions to preach a different response to a gay individual demeans us all. For society does not exist to be the mouthpiece of the indefensible monologue of religious dogma, but must be the purveyor of tolerance and respect for all human life. Anything else supports a kind of apartheid whereby LGB people along with transgender individuals cannot sit on the local community transport provided by a church community or eat at a homeless shelter administered by a local mosque.

Paul Bell