Ulster’s Democratic Unionist Party has finally participated in a Gay Pride event in Belfast.
The conservative Unionist DUP was represented by new Belfast Mayor Gavin Robinson at a cross party event on Tuesday night.
Robinson made history when he accepted an invitation to sit on the panel of a public debate ahead of Saturday’s Gay Pride march in the city.
Robinson stood by many of the DUP’s controversial policies, including opposition to gay marriage, and a lifetime ban on gay people donating blood, at the debate.
But the Irish Times reports that his presence has been welcomed as a sign of softening attitudes.
Gay and Lesbian lobby group director John O’Doherty told the paper: “It’s really positive.
“This is the very first time the DUP has attended any sort of public gay event and that’s something to be celebrated.
“The only disappointing thing about the evening was that the DUP’s views remain the same, but that’s the next challenge. This is a good start.”
The 27-year-old Robinson surprised organisers with his presence as he ensured all six of the North’s main political parties were represented at the discussion.
SDLP panellist Conall McDevitt said: “The atmosphere was lively but not tense.
“I’ve been attending this event for years, and every year it gets more positive. The atmosphere used to be fraught, now it is much more cordial.
“Ireland is changing fast, and I really think Gay Pride is slowly but surely changing attitudes in the North.”
DUP representatives have been slammed in the past for their outspoken views on homosexuality.
Ian Paisley Jnr said in 2007 that he was ‘repulsed by gay and lesbianism’.
Two years later, Iris Robinson described homosexuality as an ‘abomination’.
11 Comments
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Seanmor | Oct 08, 2012, 08:50 PM EDT
Yesterday I happenedto attend mass at St. Brigid's Church in Lexington, Mass, about 250 hyards from the memorial to the Minutemen. The Yesterday;s gospel was about Jesus' discussion on marriage, when he said, "A men shall leave his father and mother and cling to his wife". Our Savior never said that a man should cling to his same-sex partner, and neither did the Minutemen nor the Founding Fathers.
CitizenWhy | Aug 30, 2012, 02:28 PM EDT
You're still using a headline that says he was a homosexual but gave it up. Get a dictionary.
CitizenWhy | Aug 03, 2012, 12:29 PM EDT
He attended out of respect but doesn't have to agree with Homosexuals to respect them. My only issue with the Belfast Gay Pride Festival is that during the festival people can walk down the street wearing nothing but a sponge covering their ugly bits, can drink alcohol openly in the street without fear of being arrested for indecency or drinking alcohol in public as would happen at any other festival. If its good enough for the goose...
aloistmartin | Aug 02, 2012, 05:06 PM EDT
Typical Bi-Partisan Middle Class Politics ~
sparklemagic | Aug 02, 2012, 01:15 PM EDT
He looks like he "renounced" all sexuality, hetero and homo, years ago. The type who are obsessed with other people's sex lives usually do.
oldboreen | Aug 02, 2012, 12:24 PM EDT
Hey, hang on,maybe Belfast Mayor Gavin Robinson really is a former homosexual! If that's the case,Alleluia!!!
oldboreen | Aug 02, 2012, 12:02 PM EDT
I'm thinking about starting a fund, in order to purchase a School Dictionary for IC Staff Writer Patrick Counihan. Anyone care to make a small contibution?
CitizenWhy | Aug 02, 2012, 10:18 AM EDT
"renounce" does not mean "denounce," which is the word you wanted. As DrTrelawney points out, for Robinson to "renounce" homosexuality he would have to be leaving his homosexual life behind him. On the other hand, your error, perhaps intentional, did work. The "renounce" is the only reason I chose to read this article. I thought it would be quite a story for a homosexual mayor of Belfast to renounce his homosexuality at a gay pride event. ... By the way, his remarks seemed to explaining party stances on homosexuality rather than denouncing homosexuality.
Rebelforce | Aug 02, 2012, 10:11 AM EDT
Can somebody explain the sheer hypocrisy of a lot of these self-styled "religious" types? Jesus never mentions homosexuality in the Gospel, but he certainly did warn against DIVORCE, specifically equating it with adultery. So how come we don't hear Protestants like Gavin Robinson denouncing "the sin of divorce"? Hypocrites? You betcha.
DrTrelawney | Aug 02, 2012, 09:49 AM EDT
Are you aware that you have just called Gavin Robinson a former homosexual? I wonder if he will sue. Groan! It looks as if -- in classic Irish Central style -- the headline writer doesn't know what "renounce" means. It means "give up" or "stop doing something". I think you mean "denounce". Buy a dictionary, for Pete's sake.
Kilsally | Aug 02, 2012, 07:59 AM EDT
A lazy story at best - the DUP is not necessarily conservative - it previously backed many Labour policies and has opposed `Tory cuts` to the Northern Ireland budget. It does however have a strong evangelical Christian wing with links to the Free Presbyterian Church (Rev Paisley`s denomination as found on sermonaudio dot com alongside US Baptists). The DUP supports the traditional definition of marriage. The lifetime gay blood donation ban is a UK wide law that was recently relaxed in the rest of the UK - changed to 12 month ban on sexually active gay men - most countries around the world including the Republic of Ireland and the USA have similar laws, indeed the Republic of Ireland also has a lifetime ban so to attribute it to the DUP is lazy journalism as the high risk groups that are barred from giving blood are determined by health officials based on science (ie sexually active gay men, prostitues, anyone who has had sex with the previous two, anyone who has had sex in Africa and a range of others are all barred from giving blood in UK, USA, Ireland, Northern Ireland)