Gay-bashing Bishops in Self-serving call

News that the Church of England has joined the Catholic Church in calling for exemptions from the Sexual Orientation Regulations were labelled"predictable, self-serving prejudice" by the UK Gay and Lesbian HumanistAssociation (GALHA).

GALHA's secretary, George Broadhead, said: "It is no surprise that the Anglicans have joined in the call for religious exemptions from the equality legislation - they did exactly the same thing with the Employment Equality Regulations - and the government gave in on that occasion. They are driving a coach and horses through the very concept of equality. This is not just about adoption, it is about a whole raft of other petty discriminations that the Churches want to practice against gay people.

"The Archbishop of Canterbury argues that the opt-outs are necessary to protect the religious from acting against their 'conscience'. What kind of conscience is it that feels it is necessary to, in effect, put up a sign outside its premises saying 'No Gays'?

"The bishops may be presenting themselves as some sort of victims, but the truth is that they are hiding their crude loathing of gay people under a cloak of 'conscience'. This is nothing less than ecclesiastical gay-bashing."

GALHA calls on the Prime Minister to stand firm against this religious bullying and leave the regulations intact.