Statement by Jim Allister MLA:
“TUV regrets that the DUP has rolled over to Sinn Fein pressure in OFMdFM and is now delivering on a promise they foolishly made in 2007 in their first Programme for Government with Sinn Fein.
“We are now to have the absurdity of a consultation on an abstract; there are no actual proposals, more a scoring exercise to see what the LGBT lobby want. It will prove an invitation to the homosexual lobby to do what it loves to do – indulge itself in special pleading and poor me politics.
“When a Strategy was suggested in the 2010 Cohesion, Sharing and Integration Programme TUV made the point that there was not one word of recognition of the contribution which nurturing the traditional family unit can make to a cohesive society within the CSI Programme while at the same time there is a commitment to publish a sexual orientation strategy.
“It is patently obvious that there is already a more than enough legislation to protect and promote this interest group. There is no statutory justification or requirement for the proposed strategy. It is an obvious sop to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) lobby demanded by Sinn Fein/IRA and meekly accepted by the DUP – in spite of the latter’s past stance on such issues.
“Given the vast plethora of protection enjoyed by this group – in employment law, which extends not just to jobs but also to training and further and higher education; the provision of services directive; Human Rights Act protections; Equality law guarantees; and criminal law protection, with homophobic attacks leading to enhanced sentences – there is patently no need for any more special treatment.
“TUV doesn’t believe we should be pandering to these demands for special pleading and special status by special interest campaign groups.
“There is no more need for a sexual orientation strategy than there is for a married couple strategy, a singles strategy or a divorcee strategy. The whole thing is an unnecessary nonsense, yet to dare to say that is to risk spurious allegations of homophobia from those who think they are special and everyone should pander to them. Well TUV is one party which won’t.
“A sexual orientation strategy will be but a building block in advancing the demand for same sex marriage and other LGBT demands. Already one LGBT campaigner has admitted as much.”