Ukip’s gay puty lear Peter Whtle: My appotment prov we’re a diverse party | London Eveng Standard | Eveng Standard

Contents:

• UKIP E CLEAN ABOUT WHY THEY REALLY OPPOSE GAY MARRIAGE
• NIGEL FARAGE ON GAY MARRIAGE: 'I THK WE ARE OPENG A VERY BIG N OF WORMS HERE'
• UKIP WOULD NOT OVERTURN GAY MARRIAG
• MY APPOTMENT PROV WE’RE A DIVERSE PARTY, SAYS UKIP’S GAY PUTY LEAR
• GAY MARRIAGE: NIGEL FARAGE REF TO SAY 'I DO'
• MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE
• GAY MARRIAGE ROW: UKIP PLANS TO RAIL DAVID CAMERON
• UKIP BYELECTN NDIDATE REF TO CRICISE 'GAY MARRIAGE FLOOD' UNCILLOR

UKIP E CLEAN ABOUT WHY THEY REALLY OPPOSE GAY MARRIAGE

UKIP's opposn to gay marriage is not for pragmatic reasons, but is based on outdated bigotry. First his party ma an apparent U-turn over s earlier opposn to gay marriage when, durg a qutn and answer ssn wh Pk News, a statement attributed to Farage said that the party would not, after all, mpaign to abolish same-sex marriage.

Farage went on to say that UKIP’s opposn to gay marriage was two fold:. “Sendly we were ncerned that bee of the role of the European Court of Human Rights Brish law that fah muni which had strong objectns were at risk of beg forced to nduct gay marriag. So on the one hand UKIP are opposed to gay marriage bee ’s a bad time to foc on (there are more important issu), and on the other hand bee “fah muni” risk beg “forced to nduct gay marriage”.

In other words, UKIP oppos gay marriage for practil rather than moral reasons (not that that’s OK or anythg). But someone ought perhaps to tell UKIP Wal this, for their objectns to gay marriage are rather different.

NIGEL FARAGE ON GAY MARRIAGE: 'I THK WE ARE OPENG A VERY BIG N OF WORMS HERE'

Don’t vote UKIP if you’re a gay uple and want to get married. Mr Farage told LBC Rad that reports Mr Farage would mpaign to abolish gay marriage were "absolute fantasy".

Asked if he supports gay marriage at the moment, he said: "I thk we are openg up a very big n of worms here, and I thk there are some very, very big risks.

But asked if he would support gay marriag if Bra left the ECHR - as Ukip mands - he said: "I do not support the ia of same-sex marriag, all the while we’re unr the spic of the European Court of Human Rights. A senr Liberal Democrat source said: "I don't see why Nigel Farage jt don't e clean on his views on gay marriage. For his support base, and particularly his activist base, gay marriage is a very big issue and they are overwhelmgly anti.

UKIP WOULD NOT OVERTURN GAY MARRIAG

He don't want to posn Ukip as a party agast gay marriage, but he wants to say to his party he is agast . Nigel Farage has changed tack and announced that Ukip would not seek to overturn gay Ukip lear, who warned 2012 that legalisg gay marriage would force some church to nduct ceremoni that are "anathema to them", said his party would accept same-sex marriag if won the general ma his remarks an terview wh PkNews ahead of the formal legalisatn of same-sex marriag on 29 March. "Farage also said that lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr people were wele to jo Ukip.

MY APPOTMENT PROV WE’RE A DIVERSE PARTY, SAYS UKIP’S GAY PUTY LEAR

"Farage's ments mark a signifint change of tack om his attacks on David Cameron over gay marriage 2012. The Ukip lear told the Sunday Polics on BBC1: "If we go for gay marriage we will force many lns of people this untry – many of the black evangelil church, many people the Mlim muny will be forced to a posn where they have to nduct ceremoni that are anathema to them. UKIP’s first gay puty lear today urged LGBT Londoners to jo the party, spe qutns over the views held by new lear Pl Nuttall on same-sex Assembly member Peter Whtle, who was appoted puty by Mr Nuttall yterday, said his own promotn to Ukip’s top ranks proved the party was diverse and that allegatns of homophobia were “ridiculo” the former mayoral ndidate admted he did not know where outspoken Right-wger Mr Nuttall currently stood on equal marriage or sex said: “I am a social liberal.

People say the thgs about but we have two people on the London Assembly, myself and David Kurten, I’m a gay guy, David’s a black guy.

GAY MARRIAGE: NIGEL FARAGE REF TO SAY 'I DO'

[My appotment] mak me the most senr gay polician terms of lears. ” Mr Nuttall, who was elected to succeed Nigel Farage wh 62 per cent of the vote, is a 39-year-old Catholic who last year backed the church’s opposn to same-sex once scribed a urt se brought by two gay men who were nied a bed a guthoe as “a plete joke” Whtle said: “There’s been a broad spe of views on gay marriage, I don’t know que what Pl’s attu is to , he said que some time ago, I don’t know whether ’s changed or whatever but for what ’s worth I am perfectly pro gay marriage.

“When to gay marriage I thk the party totally accepts that, ’s not even an issue for any more. Nigel Farage has sistepped attempts to force him to say whether he supports gay marriage, argug would be a matter for the Hoe of Commons to normally opnated Ukip lear appeared to want to avoid g down one si or the other partly due to divisns wh his party's ranks, and fears that whatever posn he adopts will alienate some of his issued a statement to Pk News two weeks ago, thought to have been cleared wh Farage, sayg the party was reviewg s opposn to gay marriage. Speakg on LBC rad, Farage highlighted the dangers of supportg gay marriage while Bra was the EU, sayg was likely the European Unn would force church to hold gay marriage ceremoni agast their said: "We are openg up a very big n of worms here, wh many very big risks.

I n't prejudge what will happen there, but possibly forced to nduct gay marriag those church agast the will of vast majory of churchgoers. "Prsed to expla his posn on gay marriage if Bra were not the EU, Farage said: "I do not support same sex marriag all the while we're unr the spic of the European urt of human rights. "However, he did say he did not believe retrospective legislatn, suggtg any marriag nducted after Saturday would not be clared null and void, the event of gay marriage no longer beg regnised by the was equally evasive when qutned on the issue durg the LBC bate wh Nick Clegg on Wednday.

MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE

"Ukip prevly said civil partnerships were a "monsense" way for gay and lbian upl to register their mment a formal warned: "Gay marriage is an entirely different thg altogether.

"Interviewed recently by Pk News, Farage was asked by a rear if Ukip would seek to abolish the marriag of gay and lbian upl entered to after 29 March 2014 s 2015 manifto,.

We note that some gay rights activists are already talkg about takg legal actn Strasbourg to force this issue. Ukip has released a mi-manifto for Christians, sayg would extend protectn to those who want to oppose gay marriage bee of their relig document is published on the webs of some ndidat and the electn page of Christian Concern, a group that is agast abortn and same-sex manifto for Christians says Ukip would not seek to reverse gay marriage, even though the party was opposed to beg troduced. However, would offer special protectn to those who wanted to object to gay marriage or exprs other matters of relig nscience the urse of rryg out their says don’t plan to ‘un-marry’ lovg upl.

GAY MARRIAGE ROW: UKIP PLANS TO RAIL DAVID CAMERON

Photograph: AlamyThis uld clu the Christian owners of a bakery who did not want to bake a Bert and Ernie gay marriage celebratn ke or Christian relatnship unsellor who wanted to unsel only heterosexual manifto says: “We will not repeal the legislatn, as would be grossly unfair and uhil to ‘un-marry’ lovg upl or rtrict further marriag, but we will not require church to marry same-sex upl. The rultg aln ernment ially said would reta a ban on gay marriage.

As of 2020, the most recent year for which there is data, more than 42, 000 gay upl England and Wal had tied the knot. ) Pollg June found that more than three-quarters of Brons now support gay marriage, up om jt over half 2012. It end Sectn 28, which prevented schools and lol thori om “promotg homosexualy” and troduced civil partnerships.

“I don’t support gay marriage spe beg a Conservative.

UKIP BYELECTN NDIDATE REF TO CRICISE 'GAY MARRIAGE FLOOD' UNCILLOR

Gay marriag beme not an abstract threat but somethg unrtaken by iends, lleagu, neighbours. Almost half of Brons now say they know a married gay uple. Gordon Brown, Mr Cameron’s precsor, opposed gay marriage office bee was “timately bound up wh qutns of relig eedom”.

Though Bra was not the first to legalise , 19 other untri have sce given gay marriage their blsg. But has led to a of eccliastil disrd as liberal members of the church argue for the right to perform or partake gay marriag. A group of mps led by Ben Bradshaw, a gay Anglin, is lookg at ways to amend the legislatn to allow willg prits and parish to take part, which they argue uld also help boost dwdlg numbers the aisl.

Sign up for the View om Wtmster email for expert analysis straight to your boxGet our ee View om Wtmster emailChari reprentg lbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgenr (LGBT) people have cricised UKIP for beg the only one of the seven ma polil parti to not mentn gay people s policians e unr creasg prsure to tackle issu facg the LGBT muny, Ukip’s track rerd has been marred by a strg of embarrassg gaff. Earlier this month, Ukip’s prospective parliamentary ndidate Kendrick 'Dickie' Bird was acced of llg former Liverpool and Chelsea Fernando Torr “a gay boy like the rt”, acrdg to a report by the Oxford party appears to have ma no attempt to mend s image over LGBT rights s manifto. In parison, the Liberal Democrats dited an entire page to showsg s efforts to support those who intify as LGBT, while the Labour Party has promised to ntue tacklg homophobia at home and ls of a statement than the other parti, the Conservativ mentned LGBT rights s sectn on s Big Society policy, a paragraph on “equal rights”, and remds rears that the Coaln troduced of gay marriage.