Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Christian Lawyers Petition Queen To Protest Rules On Equal Rights For Gays
In Britain, a group of lawyers known as Christian Concern for Our Nation has petitioned Queen Elizabeth, asking her to pressure the government to withdraw the new Sexual Orientation Regulations that have been proposed under the Equality Act 2006. Today's Pink News reports that the petition calls the Queen's attention to her Coronation Oath in which she pledged to use her power to "maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel". The petition goes on to say that the proposed Regulations "purport to eliminate discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, but have the consequence of discriminating heavily against Christians.... The Regulations will make it unlawful for a Christian to refuse to promote homosexual practice and will make it unlawful for our children to be taught the importance of marriage in any schools above the importance of practising homosexual relationships." (See prior related posting.) Northern Ireland has already implemented the Act, with new rules that came into effect on January 1. The proposed rules are scheduled to take effect in England and Wales in April. (Pink News.)