Well, I'm writing back to my MP with just a brief paragraph as below.

A few weeks ago, those crazy folks over at the Equality and Human Rights Commission - the uber body created by the Equality Act to oversee all different branches of equality and Human Rights - issued a press release advising they wished to intervene in four cases (well, four cases, joined into two for deliberation) before the European Court of Human Rights.

It was inevitable that the conflict between 'religious freedom' and protection for LGBT/Queer equality inherent in the Equality and Human Rights Commission's remit would rear its head. And how it has.

So, Pink Paper reports that Ben Summerskill has opened his mouth and firmly inserted his foot again. Well, this time it's all there in black and white in his March eBulletin. Titled "Tick Amy Lamé's Box!" on the web version of the email, it includes the following P.S. to his introductory comment:

So, the anti-gay marriage brigade is shouting about how unfair it all is. Us evil gays are making them get married to other men which is like so wrong. So very wrong. Please, before opening your mouth, look at what's actually happening.

Latest to open his mouth and reveal his idiocy is the Catholic Archbishop Most Rev Peter Smith. The Guardian reports:

But Smith said the change was something "never envisaged by the Equality Act or any other legislation passed by parliament".

I wasn't going to go.

But then I heard defenders of the Pope and the Catholic church on Today arguing that their church was all about equalities and universals. I hadn't fully understood the message of the news report that he was going to attack secularism - I was too busy being shocked that the church thinks it is promoting equality.

Just got back from the Sci Fi Book Group at my local Borders. I decided to head along this month because the book intrigued me – The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. I told my housemate about it and she came up with the wonderfully precise but inaccurate description “Jesuits in spaaaaaace”. This would be a really bad summing up of the book. A group of people, lead, including and funded by the Jesuits is sent to investigate and communicate with a newly discovered alien culture. Only one member returns with the best reports suggesting a major disgrace on his part.

It's been a while since I last wrote and that's because I've been wanting, but unable to write anything about the Pope's "rainforest" speech. I've been suffering from writers' block because, guess what, the comment is so off the scale that there can be no rational response. But it's been nearly a month and so no longer relevant so I'm going to write something else now and ignore the Pope until the blockage is clear.

I saw my first "atheist bus" last week in Manchester. A Stagecoach atheist bus. For those needing a primer in what I'm talking about:

Two stories about religious folks commenting on queers but very differently.

First up, the Chaplain of the London Stock Exchange thinks I should be tattooed with cigarette style health warnings. But that's alright, because he was only joking. And I don't think I need to say much else there really, because I think the other story is more important...

Father Geoffrey Farrow has spoken out against his church's position on gay marriage. This needs celebrating - especially if I'm to criticise liberals for not speaking out often enough:

According to this story at BBC News:

A marriage registrar was harassed for refusing to conduct same-sex ceremonies, a tribunal has ruled.

Lillian Ladele, who said the civil partnership ceremonies went against her Christian faith, hailed the decision as a "victory for religious liberty".