September 12, 2007
Brit Wingnuts Manage to Chip Away at Equal Rights Law
Part Of UK Gay Rights Law Quashed
A High Court judge on Tuesday set aside a provision of Britain’s LGBT anti-discrimination law.
The law, which came into effect earlier this year, bans discrimination against gays and lesbians in goods and services. It was immediately challenged by conservative religious groups in Northern Ireland.
The organizations claimed the law could be used to sue Christians in their beliefs.
Tuesday a Northern Ireland High Court Justice ruled the harassment provisions in the law must be removed. In a 42-page ruling Justice Weatherup said that the curbs on anti-gay speech had not received enough public input before the law was passed.
He did, however, uphold other sections of the act, saying that the basic premise of the law does not infringe on people of faith who might not want to provide services or jobs to gays.
“The applicants contend that the regulations treat evangelical Christians less favorably than other persons to the extent that they are subject to civil liability for manifesting the orthodox belief in relation to homosexuality,” Justice Weatherup wrote.
Filed under: Radical Religious Right, United Kingdom & N.I.
