The UK Equality Bill passed its Third Reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday, and has now moved to the House of Lords, where the Second Reading is scheduled for 15 December.
The Hansard record of the debate on Wednesday starts here, or TheyWorkForYou has it in a rather different format here. Only 8 members voted against the bill at Third Reading.
An amendment to delete entirely Schedule 9, Clause 2, Paragraph 8, was proposed by David Drew Labour MP for Stroud, who made this speech in support of it. But when put to the vote it was defeated Ayes 170, Noes 314.
The debate on the religious exemptions and related topics starts at this point.
There has been some comment about the bill on blogs. For example Cranmer has written EU forces Government to put gay equality over Christian conscience and also European Commission ‘lobbied Parliament’ to pass Equality Bill which refers to the debate on Wednesday.
The full text of the EU Reasoned Opinion has not been published by the Government, but the Conservatives have obtained a copy from Brussels (they said) so it is surely only a short matter of time before it is available. Meanwhile, according to Mark Harper Conservative MP for the Forest of Dean it does say this:
“The UK Government has informed the Commission that the new Equality Bill currently under discussion before the UK Parliament will amend this aspect of the law and bring UK law into line with the Directive.”
Earlier in the House of Lords, the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds had used the occasion of the Queen’s Speech to speak there about the Equality Bill. You can read his speech in full here.
“Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd… Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.” Exodus 23:2-6 Ezekiel 34:16 “I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock… Read more »
” Sexual ethics is not the point. It is a post about national sovereignty.” – Posting on ‘Cranmer’ (above) – Oh Yes? Then why all the proscriptive quotations from the Old Testament in this positing, which makes it quite clear that ‘Cranmer’s’ opposition to the homophobia of Church and State in the UK is scriptural – without hermeneutic consideration? To pretend that Cranmer’s major concern is about ‘national sovereignty’ is a blatant mis-representation of their stance on the legislation which will bring about the a deliverance from anti-gay discrimination in the Churches. This is proof of a particular Evangelical resistance… Read more »
My last posting (2 Dec @ 8.32pm) could prove to be confusing. Wher I wrote, in the first sentence the word ‘Homophobia, please read ‘any tolerance of Homosexuality’ in Church and state….
Clearly, from this ‘Cranmer’ posting alone, the web-site is itself homophobic. One can hardly be persuaded of it’s championing of British National Sovereignty.