Anti-gay bigots accuse LGBT people of “indoctrinating” kids when we simply work to educate society on the reality of who we are, and when we try to fight for all kids. Anti-gay bigots simply want to be free to indoctrinate their children into medieval, backwards, hateful views of minorities, like they’ve always done before, because it’s “tradition.”
Yeah, we still have the moral high ground here.
Andy brings us the story of Diversity Role Models, a group which works to educate kids about LGBT people in the UK. Here’s a description of the following video:
“The final lesson of a unit on stereotyping, homophobic bullying and different families. This is a year 6 class in a multi-cultural, typical inner-city London school.”
The UK’s government is set to commit to same sex marriage tomorrow according to rumors widely circulating on Twitter.
Tim Montgomorie of Conservative Home appears to have confirmed the rumors, while James Chapman of the Daily Mail tweets that the intervention is coming after a “personal intervention” from Prime Minister David Cameron.
The announcement is likely to occur at the Liberal Democrat conference tomorrow.
That would be amazing if it’s true. The piece points out that gay couples have essentially the same rights as everyone else in the UK, but that this would bring that all the way to 100%, including the word “marriage.”
Eunice and Owen Johns are a Pentecostal couple in the United Kingdom who are unwilling to care for all children equally, insisting that they would have to tell any foster children in their care that homosexuality is sinful. For this, they lost their rights to foster children, took their case to court, and have now lost:
A ruling from Britain’s high court found that a Pentecostal Christian couple’s belief that homosexuality is morally wrong could be used as a factor in deciding whether they can care for foster children.
Eunice and Owen Johns, aged 62 and 65 respectively, couldn’t convince judges at London’s Royal Courts of Justice that a British city discriminated against them after they expressed their views on homosexuality, the Guardian newspaper of London reported Monday.
The case stems from the Johns telling a Derby city social worker in 2007 that they couldn’t tell a child that a “homosexual lifestyle” was acceptable, the Guardian reported. The couple had cared for foster children in the past and wanted to take in children aged 5 to 10.
In their ruling, Lord Justice Munby and Justice Beatson noted they weren’t striking down the Johns’ beliefs but ruled instead on the discrimination stemming from those beliefs, the Guardian reported.
“No one is asserting that Christians (or, for that matter, Jews or Muslims) are not ‘fit and proper’ persons to foster or adopt,” the judges wrote in their ruling, according to the Guardian. “No one is seeking to de-legitimise Christianity or any other faith or belief. On the contrary, it is fundamental to our law and our way of life that everyone is equal before the law and equal as a human being … entitled to dignity and respect.
That last quote from the judges’ ruling is the key here. Fundamentalist Christians have a weird complex, in which they believe that most or all of their co-religionists are also flaming bigots like they are. This is simply not the case. There are members of every religious faith whose beliefs on sexuality have matured in light of science and experience. Moreover, there are members of every religious faith who are adult enough to care equally for the all children, even gay ones. What is at issue here is that Eunice and Owen Johns are using their backwards religious beliefs as a plea for an exception to that rule. The fact that they are anti-gay and cannot get past that makes them a danger to any foster child who happens to be gay.
In foster care, the children’s needs come first — not the fee fees of a Pentecostal couple unable to get past their discredited beliefs on sexuality and embrace the harsh light of reality.
As Pam said, they’re about to “leave us in the cultural dust” yet again. The United Kingdom has had civil partnerships for years, but things are about to change:
The British government is expected to announce full marriage equality for gays and lesbians under reforms to marriage laws expected to be announced later this week by the Liberal Democrat equality minister, Lynne Featherstone.
The announcement will also include the time table for civil partnerships to be held in religious buildings. The reported move will end the final major legal discrimination against gays and lesbians in Britain.
Counselor is fundamentalist Christian, counselor behaves in a way that violates the standards of her profession by trying to “help” a gay man become straight, counselor faces disciplinary action, counselor cries discrimination, counselor should get job where the standards aren’t so hard/professional, etc.
Mrs Pilkington was targeted by a gay journalist who persuaded her to help him change his sexuality. Patrick Strudwick attended sessions with her with a tape recorder strapped to his stomach and then published a critical article about her in the Independent newspaper.
Payout: Peter and Hazelmary Bull were found to have acted unlawfully by banning a gay couple from staying in their hotel
She is now appearing before a professional conduct panel of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and faces losing her accreditation if she is found to have breached its rules.
[...]
The ‘conversion’ therapy practised by Mrs Pilkington, 60, is held in contempt by gay lobby groups.
Mr Strudwick runs a campaign called the Stop Conversion Therapy Taskforce, and has said: ‘Every major mental health organisation in Britain and America is opposed to attempts to change someone’s sexuality. There is good evidence not only that it doesn’t work but that it is harmful.’
Mrs Pilkington has treated ten patients over the past decade using a programme called Sexual Orientation Change Efforts. She says that her gay son is among those she has been able to help.
Poor gay son. It must have been awful to grow up with that sort of mother.
“We say everybody is heterosexual, but some people have a homosexual problem. Nobody is born gay. It is in the upbringing,” Pilkington told the Sunday Telegraph.
Ah, but therein lies a bit of a problem for Pilkington. That’s because her position that homosexuality is a problem rightly runs counter to ethical standards and codes of conduct put forward by the British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy (BACP). This week, the BACP will determine whether or not to strip her of her psychotherapy credentials.
They should.
Pilkington is entitled to hold whatever religious beliefs and principles she wants. But by championing and practicing the destructive concept of “conversion therapy,” she’s violating in very clear terms the mission statement and objectives put forward by the BACP for its accredited psychologists.
Look for the Peter LaBarberas of the world to add this to their gripe file soon:
Peter and Hazelmary Bull, who own the Chymorvah Private Hotel in Cornwall, refused to let civil partners Martin Hall and Steven Preddy stay in a room with a double bed in 2008.
The Bulls state on their website that they will only let heterosexual married couples share rooms.
A month before Mr Hall made the booking, the Bulls had been contacted by gay rights charity Stonewall to warm them that their policy broke the law.
[...]
Mr and Mrs Bull say that their longstanding policy applies to all unmarried couples, whether gay or straight. . Their legal defence is being financed by The Christian Institute.
Mike Judge, of the Christian Institute, said: “This case is about liberty of conscience. This guesthouse is Mr and Mrs Bull’s own home. They have rights too, and they should not be forced to act against their sincerely held religious beliefs under their own roof.
Noooooooo, the guesthhouse is Mr. and Mrs. Bull’s business, which they happen to run out of their home. If they were not taking money for people to stay at the guesthouse, no one would be raising an eyebrow at them choosing whom they will or will not allow to stay. But as business owners, they have to comply with local laws.
Anyway, the point is that VICTIMMMMMMMMMMMMM! will be the cry from the wingnut set. Just like with the cupcakes. We are very sorry, but until and unless we are living in a fundamentalist theocracy, it is not reasonable for fundamentalists to expect that the rest of secular society comply with their backward, fearful view of life.
The other day, we reported on a doctor in the United Kingdom who was crying “religious discrimination!,” due to the fact that she, according to her Christian beliefs, wouldn’t vote to place children for adoption with gay couples. Unfortunately for her, this is a case where certain professions have standards all are expected to adhere to, standards that are based in fact and evidence. It is unfortunate that some people cling to religious beliefs which are so clearly at odds with reality, but it does not mean we should give them a free pass to do their jobs poorly due to their beliefs.
Dr. Sheila Matthews took her claims of “discrimination” before an employment tribunal and was flatly denied:
According to the BBC, regional employment judge John MacMillan said there was no evidence that Dr Matthews had suffered religious discrimination at the hands of the council, nor that she had been treated differently from how any other member of the panel would be treated if they asked to abstain.
He said: “The complaints of religious discrimination fail and are dismissed. This case fails fairly and squarely on its facts. In our judgement, at least from the time of the pre-hearing review, the continuation of these proceedings was plainly misconceived … they were doomed to fail.
“There is simply no factual basis for the claims.”
According to the BBC, Dr Matthews told the hearing that her Christian beliefs led her to believe that the “most appropriate” environment for raising children was within the context of a marriage between a man and a woman.
It’s quite irrelevant what her “Christian beliefs” lead her to believe about adoption placement, for good or ill. What matters is what decades of study, in her own field, have shown to be the best outcomes for the children in concern. The fact that reality conflicts with religious belief is, I understand, often painful and confusing, but it doesn’t make it any less real.
Dr Sheila Matthews wants to European Court to rule on whether professional medical advice regarding the best interests of children should take precedence over homosexual rights.
Dr Matthews claims she was forced out of her job on the Northamptonshire Council Adoption Panel because of her Christian beliefs that children should be placed with a father and mother rather than a homosexual couple.
She resigned from her post in March after being barred from sitting on the adoption panel.
[...]
Dr Matthews said: “I sought to do my job to a high standard to support the making of good decisions in the best interests of these children.
“I understand that legislation permits same sex couples to adopt and they are positively encouraged to apply, but I have professional concerns, based on educational and psychological evidence, of the influences on children growing up in homosexual households and I feel this is not the best possible option for a child.”
Here is the thing: Dr. Matthews may be claiming that she has “professional concerns, based on educational and psychological evidence,” but she’s being represented by the UK equivalent of the Alliance Defense Fund, which is what fundamentalists do when they want a special pass to practice in an inferior way due to their religious beliefs. No one is “discriminating against her,” any more than they would be if she, due to deep religious beliefs, refused to prescribe medicine for her patients, relying instead on prayer. Dr. Matthews is obviously entitled to her beliefs, but she’s not entitled to give poor care to other, unwitting people. But that is what she seems to want.
This is one of those stories that, if you simply look at the bones of it, without any context, might seem as if, indeed, Christians are being discriminated against simply for their beliefs. Of course, that’s not quite the case:
Gay rights laws are eroding Christianity and stifling free speech, Church of England bishops warned yesterday.
Senior clerics, including former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey, spoke out ahead of a High Court ‘clash of rights’ hearing over whether Christians are fit to foster or adopt children.
The test case starting today involves a couple who say they have been barred from fostering because they refuse to give up their religious belief that homosexuality is unacceptable.
Here is the thing, though. This has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the couple is Christian. It has to do with the fact that they are using their Christianity as a smokescreen for their homophobia. Many, many Christians are not homophobes, and their ability to foster children is not at issue.
Look how dramatically the bishops and religious leaders are framing this:
Supporters hope their legal challenge will set a precedent for the rights of Christians to foster children without compromising their faith.
But senior bishops fear that if the ruling goes against them, it could have devastating consequences for those with religious beliefs.
Either way, they believe the case will determine whether Christians can continue to express their beliefs in this country.
Oh, my god. Tiniest violin in the world, I am playing.
Let me explain this in very simple terms: When you are a foster parent, you are charged with protecting and caring for children. In the real world, it is understood that among minor children, there will be some who are gay. It is a dangerous thing to put a gay child, unknowingly, in the home of homophobes who will bully them with anti-gay religious bigotry. It is not a safe environment for those children, and since we cannot know with 100% certainty which kids in the system are and are not gay, it’s best to put the needs of all children first, and keep them out of homes where they will be spiritually abused.
Or in the words of a prominent UK gay rights leader:
However Ben Summerskill, chief executive of gay rights charity Stonewall, said: ‘Too often in fostering cases nowadays it’s forgotten that it is the interests of a child, and not the prejudices of a parent, that matter.
‘Many Christian parents of gay children will be shocked at Mr and Mrs Johns’s views, which are more redolent of the 19th century than the 21st.’
Exactly. This has absolutely nothing to do with Christianity. I wouldn’t place a child for foster care with radicalized Muslims either. The fact that this couple is going to court over this, that their homophobia is so intense that it’s in the public square, should be a red flag to anyone considering releasing a child into their care.
