Damian O'Loan (Paris): The Prime Minister has sent a response to the 15,700 people who petitioned him to reprimand DUP MP Iris Robinson following her claim that members of the LGBT community should seek a cure. Predictably, Gordon Brown has chosen only to point to the strong anti-discrimination legislation in place in Northern Ireland, and links to the Equality Commission.
Clearly, Mrs Robinson's views are not shared by the government, but perhaps the Prime Minister should have done more to state his position and how it differs from her fundamentalist homophobia. The real responsibility, though, lies with Stormont's First Minister, Mrs Robinson's husband Peter.
As Northern Ireland's first citizen and leader of its biggest party, he must distance himself from his wife's position. Thus far, neither he nor his Democratic Unionist Party has done so. The department responsible for equality, OFMDFM, is under his shared command. He should therefore address a Ministerial statement to the Assembly when it reconvenes to clarify the distinction between supporting equality and irrational hate. Northern Ireland's burgeoning international reputation needs leadership.
Finally, the complaints submitted to the police following Robinson's remarks must be dealt with forcefully. Thus far, there has been no response. I cannot imagine why it takes so long to establish whether these remarks qualify as “inciting hatred or arousing fear.”
Northern Ireland, ironically, has stronger anti-hate crime legislation than other UK regions. Government introduced it because of “increases in recorded incidents involving victims defined by their sexual orientation.” The police should now decide whether her remarks arouse fear in the LGBT community, in light of comments like this:
"I feel threatened, abused, insulted and fearful because Mrs Robinson compared homosexuality to child abuse which is illegal and, I believe, grossly offensive and fundamentally wrong.”
Similarly, fundamentalist claims by a party colleague that creationism ought to be included on the science curriculum also deserve a firm Ministerial response. For the Northern Irish pupils applying to study sciences and other subjects in British universities, and for universities seeking to attract funds through research, the very high standard of teaching and results, and the face of tolerance that betrays lessons of civil rights disagreement, are what Northern Ireland needs to display internationally.
