Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting 3–4 July 2014 ENGLISH only
FROM: Core Issues Trust – Director, Dr Michael Davidson
TOPIC: Marking the growth of intolerance towards the religious orthodox in the United Kingdom who reject state collusion with gay advocacy ideologies which threaten personal and religious autonomy and freedoms of expression.
DATE: 3 July, 2014 – SHDM SESSION 1: The Right to Freedom of Expression
In 2012, Core Issues Trust (CIT), an organisation supporting individuals seeking freedom to leave homosexual practices and feelings countered an advertisement placed on London buses, by the gay advocacy group Stonewall. Their advert, on 1000 buses, read “Some people are gay! Get over it”. The CIT advert, aimed at 25 buses read “Not gay! Ex-gay, post-gay and proud. Get over it!”. The CIT advert was banned by Mayor Boris Johnson, on the eve of mayoral re-elections, a few days before a Stonewall husting, organised for the elections. The grounds for banning the CIT advert were that it was “offensive”.
CIT was denied a Judicial Review of this action, but was granted leave to appeal, which it did in February 2014. A panel of three judges upheld the ban, but ordered an investigation of Mayor Boris Johnston’s activities. The judges remitted the case to the High Court. Following a Freedom of Information request by myself, significant email information, previously withheld from the courts surfaced, and a hearing this past week awaits a judgement on the actions of the Mayor in the light of this new information.
This ongoing case is illustrative of growing intolerance and inequity within the UK, including its judiciary, towards individuals and groups who in the main are religious, and who do not support state complicity in gay advocacy agendas. According to the Christian Legal Centre, the country continues to witness a high proportion of employment tribunals and professional discrimination cases. This is indicative of a state and judiciary unwilling to recognise the religious freedoms of individuals to hold to orthodox views on traditional sexual ethics, contrary to the views of the state, and the right of such persons to promote these views as a valid, alternative life-choices and expressions of religious belief.
Mrs Justice Lang ruled in February 2014 that both advertisements were wrongly placed and that each was offensive to sections of the population. But in defiance, Stonewall has ignored her ruling and continued, without sanction, to place similar advertisements on Transport for London’s buses and tubes. The CIT advert remains banned. This is a fundamental denial of a basic right to freedom of expression for one group, and state complicity, through powerful politicians, with another, possibly for political gain. The judge initially ruled that because the CIT advertisement was placed by an organisation rather than by a person, the Human Rights Act (2010) was not engaged.
The coalition government in the United Kingdom, despite recognition from the Royal College of Psychiatrists (April 2014) that sexuality is fluid and changeable for some, continues to favour gay advocacy groups and refuses to protect minority voices holding to traditional values of marriage and family, which reject the ‘redefinition’ of these institutions.
I request that the member states of the OSCE :
(1) recognise the unacceptably high number of religious discrimination and employment tribunal cases against religious persons in the United Kingdom under the watch of Prime Minster David Cameron and Deputy Nick Clegg.
(2) That appropriate steps are taken to call the UK government to account for its unfettered support of gay advocacy, using state resources, whilst neglecting to support those with traditional and orthodox values. The consequence of this imbalance is increasing intolerance and the erosion of individual and group autonomy rights.
