19 January 2011
The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) applauds the ruling by Judge Andrew Rutherford that Christian bed and breakfast owners Peter and Hazel Bull had acted against the law by refusing to allow gay civil partners Martyn Hall and Steven Preddy to share a room at their hotel in Cornwall in 2008.
Rev Sharon Ferguson, Chief Executive of LGCM, said: “This is a simple case of Equalities law being upheld. Thankfully we have laws in the UK which ensure equal treatment of all people no matter their ethnicity, sexual orientation and so on. For the judge to have ruled any differently would have meant that within the UK the only people who can argue exception from laws are those who do so on religious grounds. Equality legislation is designed to protect everyone including people of faith. There seems to be a muddying of the waters in this case, as it has been argued that the Bulls have the right to refuse entry to whosoever they wish into their own home. This is entirely correct, but the bed and breakfast accommodation they own is a business and so no longer a private residence. Therefore this argument is both irrelevant and wrong.”
Rev Ferguson added: “Peter and Hazel Bull may well have sincere convictions about the nature of marriage – this ruling does not deny them these convictions. But if you are running a business you must make your services available to all without discrimination. As a Christian organisation we understand the fears of those who see religious faith being marginalised, but often this is not in fact the case. And excluding people, especially when our scriptures are full of exhortations to welcome the stranger (the one who is different from us), is no way to defend and uphold Christian values.”
Category: Press Releases
18 January 2011
Wednesday 18th January 2012, 7pm.
The Conference Room (Floor 1), YMCA, Indian Student Hostel, 41 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 6AQ
The Cutting Edge Consortium invites you to a public meeting to discuss the place of LBTQ women of faith in current campaigning against faith based homophobia and transphobia and in contemporary feminist debate. They will be discussing how the demands for equality of LBTQ women of faith challenge directly the orthodoxies of the leadership of the mainstream religions and how this challenge goes beyond identity politics. They will also discuss where issues of faith and sexuality/gender identity sit on the current feminist agenda.
Contributors at the meeting will include Naomi Phillips from The British Humanist Association, Chitra Nagarajan from Southall Black Sisters/Go Feminist!, Rabbi Judith Rosen-Berry from BKY/Liberal Judaism, Christina Beardsley from Sibyls & Changing Attitude & Tamsila Taquir from The Safra Project.
Everyone who identifies as female is welcome at this event.
For more information and to register for this free event go to www.cuttingedgeconsortium.co.uk or email cuttingedgeconsortium1@googlemail.com
Category: Action, Cutting Edge Consortium, Previous Event
16 January 2011
Sunday 16 January 2011, 3- 6pm
Following a very well attended and positive meeting at the beginning of November I am pleased to announce that the LGCM Yorkshire Group has been reinstated.
A volunteer interim committee has organised a social event to provide an opportunity for people to gather together and get to know one another. The hope is that a committee can be properly elected and ideas for future events can be submitted.
If you would like to attend the social, please contact Howard on yorkshire@lgcm.org.uk or telephone the office on 020 7739 1249, and you will be sent full details of the venue etc. This is also your opportunity to declare an interest in being on the committee to take this group forward.
Category: Previous Event
