Christian and Muslim groups are to stage a torchlit
protest outside the House of Lords tonight against a
proposed new gay rights law that they say would force
them to "actively condone and promote" homosexuality.
The demonstration outside the Palace of Westminster
will coincide with a Lords debate on the proposed
introduction of new equal-treatment rules in Northern Ireland, which
are set to be replicated elsewhere in
the UK in the coming months.
The legislation, known as the Sexual Orientation
Regulations, would ban discrimination in the provision
of goods, facilities and services on the basis of
sexuality in a similar way to the rules on gender and
race discrimination.
It would mean that hotels could be prosecuted for
refusing to provide rooms for gay couples, and
parishes obliged to rent out halls for civil
partnership receptions. In a twist to the new rules,
gay bars would not be able to ban straight couples.
However, Christian and Muslim groups have protested
against the rules, which they say would force them to
go against their religious beliefs.
Tonight, the Lords was due to debate the Sexual
Orientation Regulations specifically for Northern Ireland. If they are
passed, the regulations will be
added to the Government's Equality Act, which
completed its Parliamentary stages last year.
The demonstrators fear that if the Northern Ireland
regulations are allowed to go through as they are
tonight, it will have very serious ramifications for
the rest of the country. This is because the
Government is planning to draft its England and Wales
regulations by April and, if the Northern Ireland
regulations pass this evening, sources in the Lords
say it is almost certain that the England and Wales
regulations will be the same when they are drafted.
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