“Liberal bigotry is worst of all, because it thinks it's so enlightened”

Not my own words, I borrowed them from Peter Hitchens, sadly they are profoundly true!

A couple of days ago on Question Time, in a response to Will Self’s for relentlessly accusing the right, of homophobia and racism, Hitchens explained why lefties label those who oppose their views on Gay Marriage as homophobes and on Immigration as racists. This is what he said:“Liberals use the bigotry of defamation of an opposite opinion rather than the willingness to listen to it or be prepared to debate it. Liberal bigotry is worst of all, because it thinks it’s so enlightened!” and I happened to agree with him.

This brings me nicely to Gay Marriage. An important issue, one that polarises opinions and like a can of worms, once opened there is no going back.

Personally, I don’t see the point of it, as we already have Civil Partnerships which in my opinion is marriage with a different name. Especially since cohabiting couples have similar rights to married couples. So why complicate matters?

Don’t get me wrong and please don’t go all ‘Will Self’ on me, I am not a homophobe and never was.

Gay Marriage is an important issue and should therefore be given its weight, it should be discussed freely and at length on all sides, hopefully without too much finger pointing and accusations. As a nation, we are very fortunate, because debate is a healthy and welcome part of our fabric. Open, frank and respectful debate is what makes us one of the best most accepting and admired societies in the globe. Our ability to be respectful of other peoples’ opinions, believes, and values sets us apart from many equally developed nations. Sometimes, we, Brits, go beyond just respecting others’ ideals, we actually facilitate ways and set the environments for them to grow and flourish.

And we do it with almost every issue. But sometimes, the liberal left in their desire and passion to win the debate become overly militant, hijack important issues and turn them into personal crusades. They tend to become blind to the facts and others’ believes and opinions.

This is exactly what happened regarding the Equal Marriage debate. An issue that is not black or white, lefties managed to turn it into a right or wrong issue and labelled everyone who did not agree with them a homophobe! Sadly in this case it is not their passion speaking, but their underhandedness, their desire to stifle debate and bow people into their way of thinking. But, they are hurting the issue and will ultimately dilute the debate.

As someone who has no objection to homosexuality and respects people are different yet equal and therefore deserve to be treated as such. My concerns here, has nothing to do with their lifestyle, the kids they might raise and the rest of it. My main concern is what will happen to religious institutions that break the law by refusing to marry a gay couple? The government might have put some clause to protect some churches but what about those not exempted, furthermore, what about the European Court of Human Rights? Can the government protect us from them? Did lefties even think that far? Or were they too busy counting the scalps they claimed and the voices they silenced?