Dunn slams Lib Dems gay rights row

Contents:

• EX-LIB DEM MARK OATEN SAYS HE IS NOW 'FORTABLE WH BEG GAY'
• LIB DEMS' SUPPORT FOR GAY MARRIAGE 'CYNIL', SAYS FORMER STONEWALL CHIEF
• LIB DEMS BACK GAY UPL
• DUNN SLAMS LIB DEMS GAY RIGHTS ROW
• LIB DEM LEAR TIM FARRON ACCED OF 'ILLIBERAL' APPROACH TO GAY RIGHTS

EX-LIB DEM MARK OATEN SAYS HE IS NOW 'FORTABLE WH BEG GAY'

PRINCETON, NJ -- Amerins who intify as lbian, gay, bisexual, or transgenr rema signifintly more likely than non-LGBT Amerins to intify as Democrats. 6% of adults who were asked the polil qutns intified themselv as "lbian, gay, bisexual, or transgenr. The feral ernment recently released s own report on the percentage of Amerins 2013 who intified as lbian, gay, or bisexual s Natnal Health Interview Survey (NHIS), and timated that total as 2.

Var methodologil differenc between the two surveys may acunt for the differenc the timat, cludg that the NHIS survey was nducted person, asked about lbian/gay stat and bisexual stat separately, and did not ask for intifitn as transgenr. "From beg the first party to openly oppose Sectn 28 - an abhorrent law that prohibed the so-lled 'promotn of homosexualy' - to the tirels work of Barons Lynne Featherstone and other Liberal Democrat Misters gettg ​​the Same Sex Marriage Act passed 2013. Mark Oaten, the one-time Liberal Democrat risg star who left polics 13 years ago after emerged that he had been regularly payg male sex workers while married, has said he is now gay, and livg wh another former Lib Dem home affairs spokman and MP for Wchter, who was standg to bee the party’s lear until jt before the revelatns 2006, said had taken him until now to go public wh his sexualy.

LIB DEMS' SUPPORT FOR GAY MARRIAGE 'CYNIL', SAYS FORMER STONEWALL CHIEF

“I’m gay now, and I’m fortable wh beg gay and I’m clear about my sexualy, ” he told BBC Rad 5 Live.

I have a group of great gay iends. LGBT+ Lib Dems are revoltg over the cisn to adm “homophobic” Phillip Lee, sayg prov the party’s mment to LGBT+ rights “is far too easily disrd”. She explaed her reasons for leavg a sthg blog post that scrib Lee as “a homophobe, a xenophobe, and someone who thks people should be barred om the untry if they are ill”.

️ Are you fortable wh Phillip Lee’s views on gay rights?? “And that’s whout even gog to the whole ttg migrants for HIV or Hepatis — which was specifilly signed to keep migrants out — and votg agast same-sex marriage, which is prima facie homophobic, ” she add. “Now I n’t know his motivatns for sure, but seems odd that he only sgled out diseas that homophob associate wh LGBT people and ignored all other diseas.

LIB DEMS BACK GAY UPL

“The amendment they are referrg to was an attempt to rce somethg lled viral load, to rce the HIV rriage Great Bra, that actually would protect the gay muny. The Liberal Democrats have been acced of actg a "cynil and opportunistic" way when they cid to back gay marriage shortly after g to power May Summerskill, who stepped down last month as chief executive of Stonewall after nng the gay rights chary for 11 years, said was polilly expedient for the Lib Dems to back a policy that put a distance between themselv and the Conservative party at a time when there was enormo disquiet about the two parti formg a told the Observer that he stood by his remarks, ma for a Rad 4 programme, and had been nvced of the Lib Dems' cynicism when former MP Evan Harris greeted the nference vote to adopt gay marriage by sayg: "This is great bee we put clear blue water between and the Tori.

""Note that he didn't say, 'hurrah – this is great news for gay upl or for equaly', " said Summerskill. All you have to do is look at the Lib Dem manifto May 2010, even their gay manifto, and gay marriage don't appear. "Gay rights activist Peter Tatchell agreed, and add that Stonewall owed both the LGBT muny and the Lib Dems an apology.

Stonewall do great work but the gay mpaign for marriage equaly faced an uphill stggle, which was ma worse by Stonewall nstantly unrmg our efforts. Some of the arguments Ben and Stonewall put forward at the time [2010] were quoted by homophob to jtify their opposn to same-sex marriage and this was hugely damagg.

DUNN SLAMS LIB DEMS GAY RIGHTS ROW

"Stonewall, ncerned about the views of some wh the LGBT muny – pecially some women – that marriage has long existed as a means to subjugate women, waed for some time before cidg to back gay marriage, Summerskill Hunt, actg chief executive of Stonewall, said last week that was "credibly important" for same-sex upl civil partnerships to "upgra" to marriage. Featherstone, who has said the troductn of gay marriage was the "happit thg ever, both for me as a polician but also for those people who love each other and who weren't treated the same as everyone else", was the first ernment mister to take proposals for gay marriage England to the Home Office – Stland had already backed same-sex weddgs.

Aga, to be clear, this isn’t an argument that the Lib Dems should take a different posn on gay rights, trans rights or any other part of that rabow-flag agenda.

LIB DEM LEAR TIM FARRON ACCED OF 'ILLIBERAL' APPROACH TO GAY RIGHTS

LGBT+ Lib Dems is the Liberal Democrats' party anisatn mted to promotg the polici of sexual and genr mori - cludg gay men, lbians, bisexuals and transgenr people - and to ensurg that the party's polici addrs their needs. The Liberal Democrats voted overwhelmgly for a change the law to regnise gay partnerships yterday - but sought to quench middle England fears by nyg that they were advotg gay a clear eye on woog disillned Tory voters, San Kramer, the Liberal Democrats' unsuccsful London mayoral ndidate, told legat at the party's nference Bournemouth: "I do strs this is not a proposal for gay marriage. "What the party was proposg was a "civil partnership" as applible to heterosexual upl who chose to live together but not marry, as to gay and lbian Kramer said the proposal would allow any two unrelated people over 16 England and Wal the legal benefs afford to married people areas such as pensns, herance, tax and social had met wh ial opposn, but had ced the example of the gay partner of one of the Soho nailbomber's victims, who received no pensatn, unlike the hband of another who "ll themselv middle England" and who would not normally be advot of gay rights had told her was not legat sought to repair the potential damage to their urtship of the Tory vote - which saw them w the Romsey byelectn May - by headl on "gay marriag".

Barons Sarah Ludford, MEP for London and head of the Liberal Democrat group the European parliament, said was right the "landmark motn" should not refer to gay marriag sce was important to regnise the "genue sensivi" of those who felt marriage was an stutn which mt have a "rerved stat" Evan Harris, MP for Oxford Wt and Abgdon, sisted the move was not about forcg, or even askg, Christians to marry somebody of the same sex.