London: Vicars could be sued for refusing to bless gay weddings, fears Church

Vicars who refuse to bless same-sex civil partnerships risk being sued under new gay rights rules set to go into force next year.

The new laws meant to stop shops and businesses discriminating against homosexuals can be used against priests who follow the teachings of the Church, the Church of England said.

Fears that Christian ministers and churches will be targeted by gay campaigners were raised after Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly agreed that the rules will go through next April.

Under the laws it will become a offence for hotels to refuse to rent a room to a gay couple or for printers to decline to accept orders to produce gay advertising or magazines.

But churches fear they will be forced to make facilities from parish halls to conference centres available for hire to gay pressure groups.

And the Church of England warned: "Ministers could be the subject of challenge over their unwillingness to provide services of blessing following a civil partnership."

The new gay equality regulations - to be announced in detail in the New Year - are also likely to include clauses outlawing "harassment" of homosexual customers by businesses.

These will allow homosexuals to sue for injury to their feeling if they believe the behaviour of a shop or business has violated their dignity or has placed them in a humiliating or offensive environment.

Officials at the Department for Communities and Local Government confirmed yesterday that the Sexual Orientation Regulations will go into force on schedule in April.

Miss Kelly - a devout Catholic who is viewed with deep suspicion by gay lobby groups - had been holding up the new rules following objections from the Church of England and other religious organisations.

Last month Education Secretary Alan Johnson wrote to Miss Kelly demanding that the laws go through without compromise.

Yesterday's promise that the rules will go into law signals that Mr Johnson has won the battle.

The confirmation from the Communities Department also came as details of how the new rules will apply in Northern Ireland were published - showing that objections have been overruled and that the laws have been strengthened by the inclusion of provisions against harassment.

The rules in Northern Ireland - increasingly seen as a test bed region for laws the Government believes may prove controversial when introduced in the rest of the country - will go into force on 1 January, three months earlier than in England.

One critic, Andrea Williams of the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship, said: "In Northern Ireland the Government has ignored the consultation which closed only weeks ago, and has dramatically expanded the ambit of the law beyond the proposal that had been made known to the public."

Penalties for businesses that are found guilty of breaking the new rules in Northern Ireland will be fines of between £500 and £5,000 for a first offence.

Repeated breaches of the rules will mean fines of between £5,000 and £15,000, and cases regarded as serious may attract damages of £25,000.

Opponents of the regulations say the harassment clauses would allow gay campaigners to sue Christian bookshops, claiming that material promoting marriage or saying homosexuality is wrong are offensive and undermine their dignity.

They also say students could sue faith schools on the grounds that teaching about the importance of marriage or that sex outside marriage is wrong is hostile and insulting.

The new regulations follow a European Union equality directive and the main legal basis for them went through Parliament in the Equality Act earlier this year.

MPs and peers will get a chance to debate the rules, which require secondary legislation.

However, they cannot change them - parliament will have the chance only to accept the regulations in their entirety or reject them wholesale.

A spokesman for the Communities Department said: "The regulations will go into force in April. We will publish the Government's response to the consultation exercise before then."

So if the headwaiter seats a straight couple at the Sibera table next to the kitchen, tough, but if it's a couple of gays they can SUE? They've really lost their minds over there. And we won't be far behind.

"The new laws meant to stop shops and businesses discriminating against homosexuals can be used against priests who follow the teachings of the Church, the Church of England said."

The ascendency of evil on this earth is mind boggling. But what does the so-called "church of England" have to complain about, they are a huge part of the homosexual pervert problem? They appoint openly gay men to be their bishops, so they reap what they sow. Homosexuals are among the most hate-filled people on earth. They hate the Christian Church, they hate the societies they live in and seek to overthrow cultural norms. Homosexuals in fact hate themselves, hence the reason for their rampant suicides, drug addiction, alcoholism and high instances of 'partner' abuse.

I wonder how many ministers and vicars will refuse? This should separate the sheep from the goats. Laws like this would be unenforceable if most of the people who claim to be Christians just refused to comply.

Expect homosexuals to also target small bed and breakfast businesses to get them shut down. This is due to a case in Scotland where the owner, a Christian, refused to rent a room to a homosexual couple. He explained about his religious belief and that they could not stay in his house. Of course they were appalled outraged etc. and every politician in Scotland condemned the man but could do nothing about it as it was not illegal to do so at that time.

At one stage 3 out of 12 of Cabinet ministers were homosexual, Tony Blair appointed them himself.

I don't think Ruth Kelly put up more than token opposition, she has had her own problems moving pedophiles around.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1561442/posts

Tony Blair has made it a point ever since first elected to promote homosexuality.

Here is a link to an article written by Tony Blair where he enthuses, at length, on his efforts to promote homosexuality.

http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article334427.ece

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