Tag Archives: Scotland

According to a leaked email seen by the BBC, the Scottish government may not present its marriage equality bill until the British government amends a law to “protect” churches from being “forced” to hold same-sex ceremonies. The correspondence seen by the BBC said ministers were expected to introduce the policy, but not before the UK Equalities Act, which guarantees equal …

Opposite-marriage supporters say they are deeply disappointed that Scotland’s government has rejected a call for a public referendum on same-sex marriage. Scotland for Marriage, a campaign supporting marriage as the union of one man and one woman which has the support of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Scotland as well as other religious and non-religious groups, had initiated a petition …

The Scottish government has revealed that it will announce its decision on same-sex marriage on July 10th. You may recall that last fall the government solicited public comments on the issue, leading to vicious anti-gay campaigns from the local Catholic Church and several nasty blog posts from NOM. Cabinet ministers will meet in Edinburgh and announce whether the government will …

Scotland For Marriage, an anti-gay group backed by the Catholic Church and other sects, plans to send anti-gay fliers to every home in Glasgow. The fliers call for a public referendum on same-sex marriage. The Scottish government has said it “tends towards the view” that same-sex marriages should be introduced. It is currently considering the responses it received to a …

“In Article 16 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, marriage is defined as a relationship between men and women. But when our politicians suggest jettisoning the established understanding of marriage and subverting its meaning they aren’t derided. Instead, their attempt to redefine reality is given a polite hearing, their madness is indulged. Their proposal represents a grotesque subversion of …

Scotland is once again seeing earnest talk of secession from the United Kingdom. Salmond’s Scottish National Party (SNP), which came to power in May 2011, promised to hold a referendum on secession in the second half of a parliamentary term, lasting until 2016. And while UK’s Prime Minister David Cameron is against the split, he has agreed to a referendum …

As reported by the Christian Broadcast Network.

Ever since Sec. Clinton’s historic speech, hate groups have exploded with denouncements of the Obama administration’s outrageous attempt to impose moral values on foreign nations. Oh, wait. It IS totally OK to do that IF you are a Christian, says NOM’s Brian Brownshirt. In what appears to be a desperate attempt to sway the outcome, the Scottish Government has been …

Activists from Scotland’s Equality Federation are soliciting public opinions on marriage equality. Submissions will be reviewed by the government. Respondents do not have to be Scottish to express their opinion on the issue; the group can forward views from other countries in the UK and the world, which will then be looked at separately by the government. They say the …

Hundreds of mourners turned out yesterday for the funeral of Stuart Walker, the young gay man found burned and tied to a lamppost in his Scotland village last month. Many of the town’s 9000 inhabitants attended the service. Mr Walker’s sister, Julie called her brother the “life and soul of our family”. She said: “You were our ray of sunshine …

A 28 year-old gay man was found tied to lamppost and may have been burned alive in what Scottish police are describing as a possible hate crime. Detectives today launched a murder inquiry following the grim discovery, with streets in a nearby industrial estate sealed off as part of the ongoing investigation. Strathclyde Police confirmed the body had scorch marks …

“In a proposed consultation regarding the redefinition of civil partnerships, we are talking not of human rights or of civil liberties, nor of legal or fiscal equalities, but of redefining a particular relationship to give it a meaning it doesn’t possess. We would use a word which carries huge significance, and render it meaningless in respect of one of its …

The Church of Scotland has voted 351-294 to allow openly gay clergy. Scotland’s largest protestant church has swept away centuries of tradition and voted to allow gay men and lesbians to become ministers, opening up the prospect of the church allowing civil partnerships for same-sex couples. The Church of Scotland imposed a temporary moratorium in 2009 on admitting gay and …

(Tipped by Rex Wockner)

After making her cry because he wouldn’t let her perform it on America’s Got Talent, Lou Reed made amends and personally directed the video of Susan Boyle’s cover of his classic, Perfect Day. (Apparently it wasn’t such a perfect day at the shoot, with violent Scottish weather blowing the wig off of Boyle’s stand-in.) And in the same way that …

The Scottish school board administrator who was a leader in the campaign against repealing the UK’s anti-gay Section 28 law has confessed to possessing and distributing child pornography. Enacted in 1986 during the Thatcher administration, Section 28 made it illegal to “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.” Alan Smith …

Arguably the world’s most famed gay activist, the UK’s Peter Tatchell has come out against the recent hate speech fine imposed on an American preacher in Scotland, saying that only speech that incites to violence should be illegal. New York resident Shawn Holes was arrested in Glascow two weeks ago after telling customers at a shopping mall that gay people …

A 21 year-old gay man in Scotland was prevented from donating blood to his dying mother. Dij Bentley’s mother Christine, 47, died from acute myeloid leukaemia in August last year. Prior to her death, she had developed an infection and needed a blood transfusion. Friends and family members were asked to give blood to see if they were a match …