Discussion
So today is the day the first civil partnerships are possible in the UK in NI.
Perhaps NI wasn't the best place to start?
I couldn't belive the attitude of some in NI, actually protesting at the ceremonies. FFS, they are geting married, why do you need to stand and shout at them or ask them to account for themselves on this of all days? I would have been inclined to punch their lights out rather than listen to them preaching their morality. Of course both catholoic and protestant churches are free of all sin (rearrange this saying: without let he sin stone is first cast who the). Don't mention the war, child abuse, world poverty or AIDS: I did but I think I got away with it.
One member of the clergy on the news called those getting hitched all the names under the sun (including vile, and sodomites, which I had thought was a catering company).
Just confirmed what I thought about the 'tolerance' of religion: very tolerant as long as you agree with them.
I started watching the bit on the news, and was thing hmmm and hummm etc. Then the baby-eating Bishop of Bath & Wells or whatever their equivalent is spoke up and my mind was made up at that instant. The moment one of those bigoted, prejudiced, discriminatory, intolerant, fascist, misogynist, separatist, hypocritical sons of god speak up I immediately support whatever it is he is complaining about.
What I don't understand is that when they covered this on the news earlier, they followed up with an interview with a fella who'd been living (unmarried) with his girlfriend/partner for 19 years and was complaining that heterosexual couples are now discriminated against because they can't get the pension and tax rights that gay couples who have opted for a civil partnership are afforded. If that's what he wants, he's quite at liberty to get married. Surely there's not much difference between a gay couple having a 'civil partnership' and a heterosexual couple having a registry office wedding? 
Everyone is allowed their opinion on what is normal in society - and that includes people who believe that heterosexual relationships are the norm for society - they should also be allowed to protest on the basis of their beliefs - just as Peter Tatchell is allowed to be so vocal, so too should the Christian zealotbe allowed to have a voice - unfortunately, it seems to be hip to believe that anything which has prominence in the media, which ties in with populist culture, and pampers to the current attitude that celebrity status as a career choice somehow has greater validity than the enigmatic inertia that represents the majority view. It also pampers to the belief that political correctness is some sort of moral high ground, and stating views that disagree with popular sentimentality is somehow extreme and restrictive in an overwhelmingly Orwellian way.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a legally binding contract with the person you love, and I think that everyone has the right to benefit from financial incentives within that context. I do not agree that one particular kind of relationship should be given prominence because the people involved are of the same sex. No-one's relationship is any more special than any other, and I hope that the media interst in civil partnerships dies down quickly so that those involved can get on with their lives just as anonymously as the rest of society. I will feel that society has reached a balance when there are high-profile speakers on behalf of heterosexual couples, and soft-left councils provide support groups for opposite-sex couples.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a legally binding contract with the person you love, and I think that everyone has the right to benefit from financial incentives within that context. I do not agree that one particular kind of relationship should be given prominence because the people involved are of the same sex. No-one's relationship is any more special than any other, and I hope that the media interst in civil partnerships dies down quickly so that those involved can get on with their lives just as anonymously as the rest of society. I will feel that society has reached a balance when there are high-profile speakers on behalf of heterosexual couples, and soft-left councils provide support groups for opposite-sex couples.
Just picking up on the "Northern Ireland" theme, in my experience of living both here and there, I do think that there is a lot less tolerance in Northern Ireland when it comes to same sex relationships or indeed topics of a sexual nature at all.
A fine example would be my home town of Bangor, Co. Down, where some poor bloke took it upon himself to open an "adult shop" last year. I never had the pleasure of visiting unfortunately, but I understand it was pretty bog standard, selling the usual toys, underwear and vids, nothing outrageous. The local clergy were up in arms about it. In fact, one prominent local clergyman denounced it as being "a breeding ground for pimps and paedophiles".
I think he got the shop and the church mixed up...
Anyway, I believe the shop has now closed, due to the Council's refusal to grant the trader a licence. It would seem that the Council would rather miss out on the rates and have yet another empty shop than risk upsetting the alleged moral majority. I don't think we've heard the last of it though as I've read that the trader plans to take his case to the High Court.
I hope he wins.
And another thing, this is probably the wrong thing to say, but today's news footage was a classic example. Why is it that at least one half of a lesbian couple is always 'kin minging?
>> Edited by SpaceCowboy on Monday 19th December 23:02
A fine example would be my home town of Bangor, Co. Down, where some poor bloke took it upon himself to open an "adult shop" last year. I never had the pleasure of visiting unfortunately, but I understand it was pretty bog standard, selling the usual toys, underwear and vids, nothing outrageous. The local clergy were up in arms about it. In fact, one prominent local clergyman denounced it as being "a breeding ground for pimps and paedophiles".
I think he got the shop and the church mixed up...
Anyway, I believe the shop has now closed, due to the Council's refusal to grant the trader a licence. It would seem that the Council would rather miss out on the rates and have yet another empty shop than risk upsetting the alleged moral majority. I don't think we've heard the last of it though as I've read that the trader plans to take his case to the High Court.
I hope he wins.
And another thing, this is probably the wrong thing to say, but today's news footage was a classic example. Why is it that at least one half of a lesbian couple is always 'kin minging?
>> Edited by SpaceCowboy on Monday 19th December 23:02
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