Gay marriage victory in the UK

OK guys it's nearly 2 am and I really need to get to bed, but I just had to do a quick post on the remarkable news we've had in the UK today. There was a debate in the house of commons by MPs and ministers on the issue of gay marriage (currently, same-sex couples can have civil partnerships which are very similar to marriage, but marriage is only for heterosexual couples). Our current government proposed extending marriage to same-sex couples as well and the vote resulted in a landslide victory in favour of gay marriage: 400 to 175, with a huge majority of 225! I had expected the vote to go through with a much smaller margin, but a majority of 225 is an amazing result.

I couldn't be happier because all these nasty religious bigots were saying all these hateful bullshit about how society as we know it would fall apart if they allowed gay people to marry. I was even quite disturbed by the amount of coverage the media was giving to these homophobic religious people, allowing them to air their hateful rhetoric in the national media. Okay, I know not all religious people are homophobic but good grief, bring up the issue of gay marriage and see how they react. Oh this is like a big middle finger by British society to the religious bigots to show them that British society is not homophobic at all and we don't agree with them.

I am an ex-Christian who has rejected Christianity - I have actually read the bible cover to cover and attended Sunday school for years and here's the irony. This character Jesus Christ is actually quite a nice guy, he would well and truly be pissed off at just how homophobic some of these hateful Christians are in the UK. Oh the irony. I get it: many Christians hate gays, but so what? It's their right to do so (and I respect their right to do so) and today's vote in our parliament simply reminds these Christians fundamentalists that they are in the minority -  the majority of the British people reject their brand of religious rhetoric and do not agree with them on many issues such as gay marriage. This is after all, a secular country.

I believe passionately in secularism - ie. the law of the land is for everyone regardless of religious convictions, so I am glad that the Christians had a chance to voice their opinion but they do not get to dictate what the rest of us should think or do on the basis of their religion. They are in the minority - and if we were to use today's vote to measure the level of support for gay marriage in the UK, then only 30.4% of the MPs voted against it and 69.6% voted in support of it. That's a pretty big majority.

I look at the situation in Singapore with regards to section 377A and how so many religious groups try to use their religion to try to justify why section 377A should remain - I say, put it to a referendum and allow the people to decide. I'd love to see the religious bigots hang their heads in shame when they realize that they're in the minority and their religion does not give them any special privileges to trump the right of the majority. This is why I am so glad to live in the UK which is a proper democracy, where the rights of atheists like me are respected and religious people do not have no say than I do over such matters.

One of the most stupid arguments I've heard in Singapore about keeping section 377A is, "oh that would upset the religious people, for being gay is against their religion". I say, that's so stupid. Singapore is a secular state, everyone - religious or not - is equal before the eyes of the law. Why should the feelings of some people be more important than others? How totally ridiculous is that? Does having a religion entitle you to special rights to dictate what the laws should be? Does being an atheist mean that I have less rights? No of course not. Religious people who are anti-gay represent a minority of Singaporeans even if they are very vocal in their homophobia - why should their feelings be more important than the majority who do support equality (and may be equally religious too - just not bigoted)? Why is the Singaporean government pandering to the bigots - unless of course, the PAP is inherently homophobic and uses religion as an excuse to justify their homophobia?

Of course, the Christians in the UK can be as upset as they wanna be - but guess what? Tough shit, the vote has gone through the house of commons with such a large margin, they simply have to accept that we're going to have gay marriage in this country. Yeah we know you're not happy you didn't get your way, we're going to have gay marriage in this country whether you like it or not and there's nothing you can do about it. They may claim, "yes but not in my church they won't!" But you know what? What self-respecting gay would want to set foot in a Christian church after the amount of venomous homophobic rhetoric they've come up with over the years? We live in a secular state: Christians have the right to practice their religion but I draw the line when they try to influence the laws that govern ex-Christian atheists like me who clearly have actively rejected Christianity. I've got nothing against religion or Christians - I just want to make sure my rights as an atheist and a citizen are not in any way compromised by their rights to practice their religion within the context of a secular state where all citizens are equal.

One thing I'd say about Christians though - misguided as they are, hateful as they may be, at least they did speak up on an issue they felt strongly about. I am upset by the relatively smaller amount of people who spoke up in support of gay marriage before this vote (our PM David Cameron and a number of ministers did speak up actively in support of gay marriage), but surely if the vote went through by such a majority, then plenty more people in the mainstream are for gay marriage and are equality. Why didn't they speak up the way these Christians did? Or are they simply saying, "let the Christians fundamentalists have their little rant, we'll show them when the voting results are announced - but I'm not going to get into an argument with them in the meantime."

It's not just a victory for gay rights, it's a victory for democracy! 

I hope that this can show the rest of the world how a real democracy operates - the basic premise is that the law should depend on the will of the majority and not the minority. The minority may have a say and voice their opinions, but they have to accept the will of the majority. If Christians don't like the concept of gay marriage - fine, Christian preachers are free to tell their congregations that marriage should be between a man and a woman and that homosexuality is a sin etc. It's their right to do so but it should be a message delivered to their congregations within their churches and not imposed on others like me who are not part of their community. Nobody is trying to censor or silence the Christians - we're merely saying, with all due respect: hands off, I am not a Christian, don't you dare to try to tell me how I should live my life according to your religious principles.

Heck, my father hates coriander (cilantro/yum-swi), he can't stand the smell or taste. However, the rest of my family are actually rather fond of coriander. What is the solution? We never mix coriander into the food we prepare, it is always prepared as a side dish: washed and chopped up nicely to be used as a topping. The dish would be set on the far end of the table away from my father. My father would therefore have the choice to avoid touching the coriander whilst the rest of us could enjoy it with our food. We respected the fact that he doesn't like coriander and he respected our right to consume a herb he disliked. It was a very sensible and mutually respectful solution to the problem - he never imposed his will on us by banning coriander from our household. Likewise, we would never force him to eat coriander knowing how he felt about coriander. What a simple but elegant compromise. Now, why can't the Christians act in a similarly sensible manner on the issue of gay marriage?

My dad doesn't like coriander at all!

Oh it feels good living in a proper democracy, where the laws actually do reflect the will of the people - where religious bigots do not enjoy any kind of special privileges! There will be some more processes (such as passing the bill through the House of Lords) before it becomes law - but I look forward to attending my first British gay wedding very soon, hopefully later this year!