Here's to you Mrs Robinson

Well folks, exam season is finally over at the big university, so I can once again turn my attention to this blog. And what a way to start it off.

There's a big shake-up going on up the Hill, as if you haddn't noticed, with Peter Robinson taking over from the Big Man as leader of the DUP. But it's not aul Pete I'm turning my attention to at the moment, it's his wife.

I'm no fan of Iris, nor of any of her family to be frank, but I was shocked to see the events of the weekend surrounding the whole gay controversy. This whole thing has shown a deep rooted bigotry far surpassing anything else we've come to expect from our two most extreme political partys. This is one that is stretching even across the seemingly insurmountable divide between ideologies.

For any of you who have missed out on this debacle, let me bring you up to speed. Iris Robinson was interviewed concerning an attack on a gay man on the Stephen Nolan show where, after making her cursory "This attack was wrong" statement, proceeded to state that homosexuality was an abomination and urged homosexuals to seek out psychiatric help in order to change their behavior.

I mean come on! She also defended her statement by saying that they were an expression of her Christian faith, that she didn't have anything against homosexuals but the "sin" of homosexuality. It's the word of God...apparantly.

Two things, Mrs. Robinson. Firstly, you as an elected representative no longer have the right to air your personal prejudices against an entire section of the Northern Ireland community. Your job is to represent everyone in the constituency who elected you. No doubt this will mean various homosexuals. If you can't contain your bigotry and "disgust", you should never have ran for government. But who am I kidding? This is NI after all.

Secondly, I too am a committed Christian. There is nothing in me that thinks there is anything wrong with being gay. Therefore your appeal to your "Christian values" is also defunct, because that is not a position shared by the entire Church. Your comments are unwelcome not only because they are hurtful, hateful and discriminatory against people based on something which cannot be changed (as asserted by the Royal College of Psychiatrists) but also because they give right thinking Christians a bad name as mindless bigots like yourself.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I firmly believe that she and anyone in Stormont who would go down this route should be removed from office without question. We cannot allow our politicians to be engendering in our people a hatred that would lead to these kind of attacks in the first place...

Then again, this is NI.

"Our shared future". Are gay people not to be included in this as well? You should feel ashamed, Mrs Robinson