Press release to newspapers and broadcast media: 16 June 2008

Belfast Humanists Condemn Iris Robinson’s Homophobic Prejudice.

The members of the Belfast Humanist Group are appalled by the homophobic comments of Iris Robinson MP MLA. As a leading politician in N Ireland, she has a responsibility to think about the welfare of all citizens when she makes public statements. Using the broadcast media to give vent to her hostile attitude towards gay and lesbian people is not the action of a responsible politician who has the welfare of all citizens in mind.

The gay and lesbian minority have suffered much persecution down the years. Some have been subjected to vilification and physical attack, for no other reason than that they are orientated to same-sex relationships. Recently, here in N Ireland there have been brutal, unprovoked attacks which have left the victims badly injured. In some Islamic countries such brutal treatment has been legitimised and in Iran gay men have been hanged for no reason other than their sexuality.

That is the context in which we must set the hostile, homophobic comments of Iris Robinson. It is not good enough to say that she was merely expressing a personal distaste. As a leading politician speaking to the media, she has a duty to weigh her words and give proper regard to the effect that her words might have. She should be trying to promote social harmony and tolerance, instead of stoking the flames of prejudice.

Like society in general, Humanists are a majority heterosexual and a minority homosexual. We make no distinctions between people on the basis of their sexuality. We regard a person’s sexuality as their private business and we respect their privacy. We also acknowledge the remarkable contribution that gay and lesbian people have made to our culture: Benjamin Britten, Edward Albee, Virginia Woolf, EM Forster, Forrest Reid, WH Auden, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Alan Turing and Leonard Bernstein, to name but a few.

Humanists have as one of their goals the creation of a truly liberal society where people will be free to find their own purposes in life, as long as those purposes do not infringe upon the freedom of others.  Each of us should have the maximum liberty that is compatible with the liberty of all. Gay and lesbian people should be able to live freely in a liberal society as long as they respect the freedom of others.  And the same goes for heterosexuals. The same rules should apply to all and our politicians should accord equal respect to the majority and the minority.

We call on Iris Robinson MP MLA to make a public apology to the gay and lesbian community for any distress and alarm that her reckless speech may have caused.

Les Reid

Chair

Belfast Humanist Group

www.belfast.humanists.net