On Oct 1st the Northern Ireland Assembly will debate a motion submitted by the Green Party on the issue of Equal Marriage, which calls for state recognition of same sex unions and legal protection for any religious organisations, which do not wish to affirm such unions. Ahead of this debate I’d like to take this opportunity to explain the party’s stance on this issue.
The Green Party does not believe that this is a debate or should be a debate be framed around the morality of same sex unions. We all know that people within this society disagree on this question and recognise that this debate will continue.
However, the very disagreement on a moral issue between the competing groups is the reason why the state must treat people equally. It is our view that given the range of interpretations and disagreements around belief in the multi-faith and non-faith society, no one moral view should have the right to a superior and irrefutable elevated position. The state is there to arbitrate between the claims of all its constituents and to manage competing moral viewpoints in as equal and as fair a way as possible.
As has been recognised by Brittney Baker:
Those who oppose same-sex marriage claim that it is indeed an issue of morality, which falls under the category of public welfare, and therefore is within the realm of the state to interfere. In this case, the religious opposition tends to use their view of morality, which states more or less that homosexuality is a sin or against nature as God created it. Needless to say, this does not equate to a secular morality that all citizens can adhere to. Babst refers to the Wolfenden Report, which asserts that "unless a deliberate attempt is made by society, acting through the agency of the law, to equate the sphere of crime with that of sin, there must remain a realm of private morality and immorality which is, in brief and crude terms, not the law's business" (Babst 2002, 43). This suggests that the attempt of religious believers to impose their morality on all citizens is unjust and unconstitutional. Crime is a matter for the law, sin a matter for religion, and the two cannot coincide within the sphere of politics and legislation.
Opinions on the morality of same sex marriage are therefore not an issue for political parties and the Green Party has not asked that our elected officials endorse or oppose the morality same sex unions. It is important to understand that what the party is campaigning for is a change to the law so that the state is neutral on the issue to give individuals the right to make the choice for themselves.
This motion is also about more than simply tolerance - we're calling for a shift in attutudes so that people are respected and that the state supports the cultivation of respect. This is not to say that someone with a religious point of view must now change their moral opinions but rather that persons with a different sexual orientation are afforded respect in virtue of their humanity and respect for their choices of how to live their life the way they see fit in accordance with the law.
In addition, this debate should not be framed one of the LGBT community versus the religious community. There is no consensus within the religious community with regards to the morality of same sex marriage. A range religious groups support same sex marriage such as Quakers, liberal Jews and some Anglicans and within Northern Ireland there are Christian groups such as Changing Attitudes Ireland actively campaigning in favour of changes to the law on this issue.
It must therefore be recognised that within our society there are presently individuals with faith living in this society from these religious groups who are denied the right to marry in accordance with their interpretation of religion. As such, this debate is not only about the issue of equality but also one of religious freedom.
Since 2001 eleven countries and some states in North America have legalised marriage for couples of the same sex and it is notable that in the peaceful and forward thinking nation of Iceland, the marriage equality legislation was so uncontroversial that not even a single MP voted against it.
These proposals are neither unreasonable nor radical and it is clear that contrary to the anxiety expressed by some marriage equality will not harm anyone nor lead to any damage to the social fabric of society. The party would encourage everyone to support this motion on the basis of freedom, equality and the principle of the state as protector and guarantor of the rights for all, and, on the basis that this motion does not require any individual to change their own personal view of the morality or value of same sex marriage.
Ross Brown, Chair of the East Belfast Green Party
Friday 28 September 2012
Tuesday 25 September 2012
Big Development Threatens Small Shops
It was somewhat ironic that on the same day that the Belfast Telegraph reported that one quarter of retail units were vacant in Belfast, the paper also reported Peter Robinson’s claim that planning delays such as for the development of the out of town multinational retailer John Lewis store are “costing millions in investment and jobs.”
Despite the blatently obvious connection between the development of out of town retail and the loss of our town centres, our politicians still havn't learnt to count and, when faced with the judgement of the merit of a proposed development, continue to simply add up all the positives and forget about any associated costs.
And the media does little to help. Despite the myths spread opening a second out of town supermarket in a town does not result in the creation of jobs - people don’t suddenly spend twice as much money or indeed suddenly demand twice as much food! Rather what happens is that jobs are displaced, as the locally run shops in the town centre which would serve local goods from other local businesses close.
The impacts of the loss of our small businesses cannot be underestimated. Compared to multinational retailers which pay the most basic wage to those at the bottom and extravagant wages to the very lucky few who manage to reach the top, small businesses provide people with a fair income and the self-determination and satisfaction of owning and managing their own family business. Small businesses buy more of their products from other local businesses which keeps the money in the local economy and they give a town centre character. They also provide a greater choice compared to the same goods which are sold at the same chain retailers nation wide. Moreover, the dispersal of retail to out of town locations makes it even more difficult to develop a public transport infrastructure resulting in greater levels of car dependency which hits the poorest in society the hardest. And lets not forget, when a town loses a business which has been run by a family for generations, it can never be replaced.
Unfortunately, rather than their being not enough retail development in this country, the total failure by the Government to consider the wider social, economic and long term costs of new retail development has resulted in a failure to administer any sort of development plan resulting in a free for all for the last two decades. This is no more visible than in East Belfast where an entire road of small businesses on the Lower Newtownards Road has all but been wiped out as a result of the continued expansion of multinational chain shops in Conswater Shopping Centre. Ironically today Conswater itself is now struggling as a result of overexpansion and now its anchor tenant Tesco is planning to up sticks and relocate to the Castlereagh Road with the likely impact that the many small businesses on the Cregagh Road will suffer a similar fate.
While no one disputes that the building of a new supermarket or retail complex results in an initial injection of new money during the construction phase, no multinational company ever makes an investment without the expectation of a return. Lets not forget that once built the profits of multinational retailers are sucked out of the local economy and sent to the headquarters in London. As such, if Peter Robinson and the Government are actually serious about their proposals to make Northern Ireland less financially dependent on the rest of the UK, one of the best things they could do would be to devise a strategy to keep money circulating in the local economy and deter rather than encourage the development of multinational retailers.
Our concern about these issues has meant that Green Party in the Assembly has submitted motion calling for an urgent publication of a NI retail planning policy for debate to the Assembly and we hope that other parties will recognise these concerns and endorse the Green Party’s call on this issue.
Ross Brown
Chairperson of the East Belfast Green Party
Despite the blatently obvious connection between the development of out of town retail and the loss of our town centres, our politicians still havn't learnt to count and, when faced with the judgement of the merit of a proposed development, continue to simply add up all the positives and forget about any associated costs.
And the media does little to help. Despite the myths spread opening a second out of town supermarket in a town does not result in the creation of jobs - people don’t suddenly spend twice as much money or indeed suddenly demand twice as much food! Rather what happens is that jobs are displaced, as the locally run shops in the town centre which would serve local goods from other local businesses close.
The impacts of the loss of our small businesses cannot be underestimated. Compared to multinational retailers which pay the most basic wage to those at the bottom and extravagant wages to the very lucky few who manage to reach the top, small businesses provide people with a fair income and the self-determination and satisfaction of owning and managing their own family business. Small businesses buy more of their products from other local businesses which keeps the money in the local economy and they give a town centre character. They also provide a greater choice compared to the same goods which are sold at the same chain retailers nation wide. Moreover, the dispersal of retail to out of town locations makes it even more difficult to develop a public transport infrastructure resulting in greater levels of car dependency which hits the poorest in society the hardest. And lets not forget, when a town loses a business which has been run by a family for generations, it can never be replaced.
Unfortunately, rather than their being not enough retail development in this country, the total failure by the Government to consider the wider social, economic and long term costs of new retail development has resulted in a failure to administer any sort of development plan resulting in a free for all for the last two decades. This is no more visible than in East Belfast where an entire road of small businesses on the Lower Newtownards Road has all but been wiped out as a result of the continued expansion of multinational chain shops in Conswater Shopping Centre. Ironically today Conswater itself is now struggling as a result of overexpansion and now its anchor tenant Tesco is planning to up sticks and relocate to the Castlereagh Road with the likely impact that the many small businesses on the Cregagh Road will suffer a similar fate.
While no one disputes that the building of a new supermarket or retail complex results in an initial injection of new money during the construction phase, no multinational company ever makes an investment without the expectation of a return. Lets not forget that once built the profits of multinational retailers are sucked out of the local economy and sent to the headquarters in London. As such, if Peter Robinson and the Government are actually serious about their proposals to make Northern Ireland less financially dependent on the rest of the UK, one of the best things they could do would be to devise a strategy to keep money circulating in the local economy and deter rather than encourage the development of multinational retailers.
Our concern about these issues has meant that Green Party in the Assembly has submitted motion calling for an urgent publication of a NI retail planning policy for debate to the Assembly and we hope that other parties will recognise these concerns and endorse the Green Party’s call on this issue.
Ross Brown
Chairperson of the East Belfast Green Party
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