Unless Ye Become As Little Heterosexuals

The Sectarian of State for Communities and Necessary Ostracism, Ruth Kelly, has attempted, with the blessing of Tony but in her own inimitable manner, to reassure her less godly Cabinet colleagues that discrimination against gay people is not the right and privilege of the Roman Catholic church alone. With regard to those faith-based adoption agencies to which the Government wishes to outsource its duty of care for its immature human resources, "the debate around better protection on the basis of sexual orientation has been beset by wild speculation on all sides," she said. I do not know what "protection on the basis of sexual orientation" means; as far as I am aware, sexual orientation is like gender and skin colour, in that the protection of the state does not depend on it. Or am I out of date again? "There have been absurd claims, for example, that ministers of religion will be forced to bless same-sex couples"; ah, so that's what it means. Ministers of religion will be protected against the horrible prospect of mumbling and gesturing over the evil queers, presumably whether the evil queers want these blessings or no. Well, I'm glad we got that settled. "Equally there is no question of preferential treatment for an individual faith"; so if Catholics are permitted to discriminate, all other faiths must be permitted to do likewise, leaving secular adoption agencies with no choice but to cope with the Human Rights Act as best they can. Given the constant trouble which the Government itself has suffered thanks to this Act, the prospects seem hardly optimistic.