Civil Unions etc

Well the Civil Unions debate is heating up again.

I was one of the many who paid for and signed the advert last Sunday. I was on the left hand column near the bottom. I respect that not everyone sees the bill as a good thing, but I see it as a step forward, not a step back.

No Right Turn has a useful list of swinging MPs on the issue. I know of at least one MP who voted against at first reading who will vote for at the next reading. But to counter that Stephen Franks looks set to reverse his initial vote in favour.

A group of “committed Christians” have set up an anti CUB website. These people are not actually against just CUBs but same sex relationships fullstop. They seem to want gay relationships made illegal again. Read them and weep.

However I do agree with Stephen Franks that Jacquie Grant should be removed from the Human Rights Review Tribunal after she e-mailed the above group to say “Rest assured you will be taken to task at every opportunity for hate crime”. This is a direct threat related to her role on that body. It is inexcusable, no matter how strongly you loathe the views of the group quoted.

And this indicates exactly why one should not have laws to ban “hate speech”.