Results 1-20 of 40 for gay speaker:Lord Alli

Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill (7 May 2008)

Lord Alli: ...I do not fear an open and frank discussion of homosexuality. It is that right which this House tries to uphold. I, along with a whole host of noble Lords, have argued not for special treatment for gay men and lesbians under the law, but for equal treatment. I have argued our case with, I believe, love, compassion and, most of all, equality. I have no quarrel with those who have a different...

Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill (7 May 2008)

Lord Alli: ...illegal under this offence. The noble Lord, Lord Waddington, said in his opening speech at Report that the amendment, "could not by the greatest stretch of imagination be thought to be aimed at gays".—[ Official Report, 21/4/08; col. 1366.] Gays are all that it is aimed at. Let us see this amendment for what it really is. The Government have given us the opportunity to restore this...

Asylum: Mehdi Kazemi (11 Mar 2008)

Lord Alli: My Lords, three specific issues relate to this case. First, homosexuality is illegal in Iran and punishable by death. Secondly, this young man's partner was hanged at an early age simply for being gay. Thirdly, the Home Office's position is that gay people can return to Iran safely, provided that they are "discreet". Heaven knows what that means. Does the Minister agree with his department's...

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [HL] (21 Jan 2008)

Lord Alli: ...of the clinic's obligation to consider a male role model, while keeping the child's best interest at heart. That means supporting good parents regardless of their sex. Equality for lesbian and gay people in Britain is a principle now established in law in a range of areas. It is an issue that this House has considered, in detail, in many previous debates and supported time and time...

Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 (21 Mar 2007)

Lord Alli: ..., seven and eight year-old children holding homophobic placards outside your Lordships' House seemed to me to be the best argument for the regulations. The regulations only seek to give lesbian and gay people throughout Great Britain the same protection that others enjoy and which we have the right to expect. In Northern Ireland, the regulations have been in place for three months without...

Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (9 Jan 2007)

Lord Alli: ...Ireland would oppose these laws, and my noble friend made it very clear that that was not the case. I would not normally speak on regulations affecting Northern Ireland, but as one of the few gay Peers in your Lordships' House, I know only too well how essential these regulations are. I argued passionately for them last year, and I pay particular tribute to the Government for ensuring that...

Equality Bill [HL] (9 Nov 2005)

Lord Alli: .... The argument for equality goes something like this. "We all want equality; it's a great thing. But, you know, if we're a religious organisation, we should still be allowed to discriminate against gay people". That has always been unacceptable to me. The quicker it changes, the better. I understand that there are deeply held faiths, and problems. I hope that during the consultation...

Equality Bill [HL] (9 Nov 2005)

Lord Alli: ...asking the Government to look again at the possibility of extending the protections proposed for religious groups against discrimination in goods, facilities and services to the lesbian and gay community. I was truly grateful for the support I received, not just from those who spoke but from colleagues on these Benches. The Government have always maintained that it would be impossible to...

Equality Bill [HL] (19 Oct 2005)

Lord Alli: ...with a Muslim background, I were refused a hotel room on the basis of my religion, I would be protected under the provisions; but if I were refused the very same hotel room on the basis that I was gay, I would have no such protection. The amendments seek to correct that mischief. The second reason why these amendments reappear is the growing evidence of widespread discrimination, which...

Equality Bill [HL] (13 Jul 2005)

Lord Alli: ...see whether there is a chink of light that may satisfy me. But I fear that the Government have caused themselves a problem by giving these protections to religious communities and by excluding the gay community. Not giving them at the same time is the issue that is left on the table. My noble friend will know that I am not satisfied in terms of the speed at which these issues are to be...

Equality Bill [HL] (13 Jul 2005)

Lord Alli: ...enduring support. This is an enormously important issue—important because men and women continue to encounter discrimination in their daily lives simply because they happen to be lesbian or gay. They can receive second-class treatment from public service providers, such as the NHS; they can be turned away by businesses, such as hotels and insurance companies. That problem exists now....

Equality Bill [HL] (11 Jul 2005)

Lord Alli: ...is not only a technical tidying-up of the equality laws. As she said, there is evidence of discrimination in a range of services in both the public and private sectors. There are still examples of gay men and women being refused double beds in hotels. There are examples of women being refused smear tests because of their sexuality. When I read Hansard, I was encouraged to see how much...

Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill (14 Mar 2005)

Lord Alli: ..., "More! You want more?". Yes, I want more. I would like the Government to go further. I have written to the Minister asking her to give consideration to the extension of the provisions to cover gay men and lesbians through a new offence of incitement to homophobic hatred. I have given her notice that, in Committee, I shall be bringing forward amendments to that effect. If the law is...

Civil Partnership Bill (1 Jul 2004)

Lord Alli: ...deal with some of the noble Lord's points on a more substantive basis during the debate. I simply want to tell him how offensive his contributions, both last Thursday and today, have been to many gay people up and down this land, given the kind of language that he has used twice in the two different debates. I suggest that he think very carefully about the tone that he adopts during the...

Civil Partnership Bill (24 Jun 2004)

Lord Alli: ...the noble Lord, Lord Lester, on this particular amendment. I believe that the Government's position, as outlined in Grand Committee, is wholly inconsistent. If the state of Massachusetts has made gay marriage legal, then until an appeal is successful, those citizens should be treated as having a civil partnership in terms of recognition under the Bill. I would push the Minister to look at...

Civil Partnership Bill (24 Jun 2004)

Lord Alli: My Lords, without rehearsing our debates in Grand Committee, the arguments of the noble Baroness boil down into two major areas. First, there are not very many gay people in Northern Ireland anyway so why should we do this? She said in Grand Committee that there were only 238 couples in the census and therefore she did not see why the legislation should apply to Northern Ireland. The second...

Civil Partnership Bill (24 Jun 2004)

Lord Alli: ..., the noble Lord tempts me. But, if it is of any help, I could write to him providing some of the details of the abuses and violence in Northern Ireland towards young people and particularly young gay people. Rather than bore the House with that, perhaps he will let me do that. At this Report stage, we already know what the Government think. We heard it ad nauseam in Grand Committee. I...

Civil Partnership Bill [HL] (24 Jun 2004)

Lord Alli: ...undertake a study on cohabitation and would urge action as soon as he could. The noble Baroness's argument in Grand Committee was not only that she wanted to help carers but that she wanted to stop gay people having these sets of rights. As I said, I have supported calls for the issue of carers to be looked into. But I have to say to the noble Baroness, as I said to her in Grand Committee,...

Civil Partnership Bill [HL] (22 Apr 2004)

Lord Alli: ...the House. The subject was the equalisation of the age of consent. I shall let the Minister deal with her phone; I know that she wishes to undermine my arguments. I sat through many speeches about gay men and women—noble Lords may recall some of them—referring to us as sick, abnormal, unnatural and ruined. I remember starting my speech. Bravely—some would say...

Civil Partnership Bill [HL] (22 Apr 2004)

Lord Alli: ...piece of legislation that I have listed. They will abuse two legitimate concerns to undermine the Bill. The first notion, of course, is that it will undermine marriage. In countries where there is gay marriage or civil partnership, there is certainly no evidence to suggest that it does that. In fact, there is evidence to suggest the reverse. More importantly—I agree with the right...