Well done to Green Party MLA Steven Agnew for setting DUP Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster straight that civil partnerships are NOT equal to marriage and that all religious symbolism or language in civil partnership ceremonies in the UK is banned – by civil law. The scary thing, Arlene is about as gay-friendly gets in the DUP.
These restrictions were introduced sepcifically to placate the Church of England, which feared a grassroots rebellion by gay affirming clergy and parishes otherwise. Ironically the Church of England which now claims to support civil partnerships as a positive option for people in same-sex relationships to covenant their lives to one another, despite doing its best to gut the legislation when it was first introduced to remove any such possibility.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbMDC_7HNCo]
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I always have the impression that the lady comes across as gay herself, but then I’m forgetting there’s no such animal as a gay Northern Ireland protestant.