LONDON (BP)–New British Prime Minister Gordon Brown appears to be on the same page as his predecessor on so-called “gay rights,” and that’s bad news for pro-family citizens in the country.
Days after taking over for former prime minister Tony Blair, Brown gave an interview to Pink News, which claims to be Europe’s largest homosexual news service. His answers were in line with those of his left-leaning Labour Party.
“[L]et me be clear: I am proud of this government’s record on gay rights,” he said. “… I can promise this government will continue to do all it can to make Britain a fairer and more tolerant place.”
Brown also said he was “very pleased” to “put on record my support for civil partnerships” — a reference to the nationwide law that grants same-sex couples the legal benefits of marriage. It was passed under the Blair government and went into effect in December 2005 and was championed by homosexual activists.
The new law has done much to legitimize homosexuality. According to the BBC, “Mr. and Mr.” and “Mrs. and Mrs.” cards are sold in ASDA stores (part of the Wal-Mart family). Newspapers now print domestic partnership announcements alongside marriage announcements. The domestic partnership webpage on the federal government website shows two hands — presumably those of two men — touching.
Brown also said his government would support homosexual issues in other countries.
“We have announced an international strategy to promote rights overseas, which includes Britain’s commitment to the universal decriminalisation of homosexuality,” Brown said. “We are and will continue to work with foreign partners and domestic organisations to protect the human rights of gay and lesbian people throughout the world.”
NEW MEXICANS CAN ‘MARRY’ IN MASS. — Same-sex couples from New Mexico now can “marry” in Massachusetts, although the licenses won’t be recognized back home. The change took effect July 18 when the Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued a notice to clerks across the state stating that because “gay marriage” isn’t explicitly banned in the southwestern state, homosexual couples from there can acquire marriage licenses, The Boston Globe reported.
With the ruling, New Mexico joins Rhode Island as the only two states from which couples can get “married” in Massachusetts.
Officials in Massachusetts have used a 1913 law to prevent out-of-staters from getting married if the license wouldn’t be recognized in their home state. But that law has been interpreted somewhat broadly, thus providing a loophole for couples from New Mexico and Rhode Island.
“Under applicable Massachusetts law … New Mexico’s laws do not prohibit marriage between parties of the same gender,” Stanley E. Nyberg, the state’s registrar of vital records and statistics, wrote in his notice to clerks, according to The Globe.
Attempts in New Mexico to pass a state law banning “gay marriage” — often referred to as a defense of marriage act — have failed.
UPS GRANTS SAME-SEX WORKERS BENEFITS — United Parcel Service (UPS) in late July began granting spousal benefits to homosexual workers who have a New Jersey civil union, thanks apparently to pressure from New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine.
UPS previously had said its contract with the Teamsters union permitted benefits only for the “married spouses of employees,” The Star-Ledger newspaper reported. But Corzine, a Democrat, sent a letter to UPS CEO Michael Eskew July 20, urging him to reconsider. Corzine argued that the company’s interpretation of its contract creates “inequity at the workplace and (furthers) the inequitable treatment of committed same-sex couples that the New Jersey law intended to eradicate,” the newspaper said.
The civil unions law grants homosexual couples all the state legal benefits of marriage. Nevertheless, homosexual activist organizations in the state plan on lobbying the state legislature in 2008 to legalize “gay marriage,” The New York Times reported.
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