Delivering a key note address at the annual Amnesty International Belfast Pride Lecture last night, Ged Killen said opponents of equal marriage know they have lost the argument.
Ged Killen MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West
Ged Killen, Labour MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, pointed out that before the Assembly was suspended MLAs voted in favour of same-sex marriage but a Petition of Concern, a mechanism that can be used to veto proposed legislation by forcing a higher threshold than the usual 50% required for a vote to pass, was used by the DUP to block the legislation in a move Ged described as a “cheap parlour trick”.
However, Ged highlighted that opinion polls regularly show support for same-sex marriage at 70% amongst the people of Northern Ireland and it enjoys cross party support at Westminster and that “Under these circumstances, it is anti-democratic not to legislate for same-sex marriage and Westminster has a moral and a democratic obligation to do so.”
“it is anti-democratic not to legislate for same-sex marriage and Westminster has a moral and a democratic obligation to do so”
He says opponents of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland have lost the argument and are “running a way” as they are afraid to face the public in a referendum and know they would lose a vote in the Assembly or at Westminster.
Despite the “cheap parlour tricks” of opponents, Ged, whose husband is from Northern Ireland, declared that “For many of us, including myself, this is personal as well as political” and vowed that “MPs, peers and communities across the UK will continue to put pressure on the Government and call on Theresa May to act”.
Ged asked “whether £1bn and a fragile grip of power is worth perpetuating the ongoing discrimination against the LGBT+ community”.
He went on to say that “In the absence of the Assembly, MPs and peers are committed to the cause and we will not stop until we have secured equality for the people of Northern Ireland”.
Ged Killen delivering Amnesty International Belfast Pride Lecture
Calling on Theresa May’s government to change its mind and legislate on the issue, Ged asked “whether £1bn and a fragile grip of power is worth perpetuating the ongoing discrimination against the LGBT+ community”.
In his maiden speech to Parliament Ged said “as the first gay married man to represent my constituency, and in that spirit of collaboration, that I welcomed the equal marriage legislation passed under the 2010 coalition Government. I look forward to the continued advancement of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex equality in this place and across the whole United Kingdom.”
Ged Killen and others at Belfast Pride 2018
Earlier this year in Parliament he raised the issue of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland where he accused the government of being “complicit in discrimination against LGBT people in Northern Ireland” and asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley, whether she would support efforts to bring about change.
“we will not stop until we have secured equality for the people of Northern Ireland”
However, Bradley’s response was, not unsurprisingly, unhelpful claiming that the matter was a devolved issue, a less than satisfactory response considering the Assembly has been suspended since January 2017.
It will come as no surprise though that the government is prepared to dismiss the concerns of the LGBT+ community if it means they can remain in power with the support of the DUP, who have also threatened to invoke a Petition of Concern to block any moves to bring abortion law in Northern Ireland into alignment with the rest of the UK.
However, despite government intransigence and desperation to accommodate the DUP, Ged Killen is clearly not going to give up the fight for LGBT+ rights throughout all parts of the UK.
You can see the full lecture and Q&A below.
The Amnesty International UK press release on Ged’s address can be found here.
