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Homophobia in Northern Ireland: A Gay Perspective
by
Séan Morrin
| As we all know, homophobic hate crime is especially alive and well in Northern Ireland. As is usually the case, hatred of gays is fuelled by a small minority who preach ‘fire and brimstone’, whipping up a frenzy of homophobia. Here, an openly gay man from Derry sets out his stall – and probably expresses the view of not only the gay community, but also of the majority of the population. |
DERRY, Northern Ireland. June 29 – Derry’s gay community will be strongly represented again this year at the North Ireland’s only pride march. As with previous years many will travel with friends and family to what has always been a fun filled, colourful and overall a peaceful event.
The Pride March, held annually in Belfast, is however under threat this year.
Against a background of spiralling hate crimes across Northern Ireland, so called ‘Christian’ zealots are calling for what is essentially a fun carnival parade to be banned.
It comes as no surprise that religious groups are again trying to enforce the supremacy of their views on others.
This is a pattern of oppression that has been repeated for centuries, often in the most violent and brutal of ways. This current campaign is vile and vitriolic with extremely hateful lies and half-truths being mixed in a sophisticated propaganda campaign designed to mislead.
Whilst the public face of the campaign is friendly you only have to scratch the surface to find underhanded tactics, offensive language, false accusations and blatant lies often disguised as research. All this hurt and harm in the name of God can hardly be described as a Christian approach.
This is not an isolated Northern Ireland problem; it is part of something much more insidious that is happening internationally. Organised anti-pride campaigns have been mounted in Rome, Budapest Warsaw, and Jerusalem to name but a few.
Following outcries by civil libertarians in those countries these campaigns have failed with marches taking place in each of those cities despite the efforts of homophobic groups.
The gay community here is without a doubt a minority. Our rights however are as valid as those of any other citizen.
Belfast Pride is the only example of a march by the gay community in the north.
It attracts large numbers of participants from the North West and across the whole island as well as many foreign visitors.
Thwarting this attack on a minority and its right to express itself is not an issue only for gay people. As demonstrated at the 36th Civil Rights Anniversary March in Derry, challenging prejudice and defending the rights of minorities is an issue for us all.
There can be no return to Victorian hypocrisy and repression based on the views of the religious right, indeed given the harm inflicted by this pseudo Christian approach the gay community would not be out of order in demanding an apology as an act of contrition by those peddling hatred.
It is important to point out that most of the Christians we know, both gay and straight, would aspire to the teachings of Christ rather than sit in judgement.
Following recent media coverage of attacks against gays in Derry, many Christian people have taken the time to contact us, offer support and distance themselves from homophobia, that seems much more like a true Christian response of understanding and love.
Séan Morrin is the Project Officer of The Rainbow Project.
Comment by UK Gay News.
The gay community in Northern Ireland deserves the support of all of us in Great Britain and the Irish Republic. We should, perhaps, “get our flags, whistles and banners”, as Belfast Pride’s websites suggests and make every effort to parade in solidarity with our Ulster friends in Belfast on Saturday August 6.
Europe only has two other Prides that day that we know of – Brighton and Hove in UK and Reykjavik, Iceland. And with low-cost airlines and ferries serving Belfast, it won’t “break the bank”.
Low-cost airline, easyJet, flies into Belfast International Airport from several national destinations including Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Bristol and Newcastle, as well as international destinations Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, Rome and Malaga. Other airlines flying to Belfast include Jet2, bmibaby and British Airways.
By coach, National Express can provide information on travelling from mainland Britain to Belfast. P&O Irish Sea and Stenaline have information on crossings between the UK mainland and Northern Ireland.
LINKS
Belfast Pride website
'Christian Anger' Over Gay Parade.
BBC Northern Ireland (June 27)
Northern Ireland Police Failing Gay Community.
UK Gay News (May 24)
29 June 2005
