I haven't posted here in a while and to be honest I probably won't be doing so again for the forseeable future. However the NI Assembly is due to debate the issue of equal marriage again on Monday and some of the language being used to describe the gay community has touched a nerve. So here's my response:

Too many for us to let them go unchallenged, and I for one won't be keeping quiet or being polite if those people feel the need to let me know just what they think of me and the people I hold dear. Tell me that I can't get married in your church? That's fine. But don't tell me I can't get married in the country or city that I was born or that I call my home. Oh and I should also make mention that if I do get married, my marriage won't infringe or weaken anyone else's marriage any more than if by eating a bacon sandwich I make you anyone else less of a vegetarian.

It's April 1st, and the hammer-fall of the Coalition's viscous and unjustifiable cuts to benefits and the re-shaping of our welfare system come into effect as of today. Despite the thousands of protests, despite the advice being given by experts, charities, churches, politicians and those who will be hit the hardest; the Coalition is pressing ahead the biggest and most high profile cuts, such as the Bedroom Tax, the household welfare cap, and the abolition of council tax benefit.These new reforms will take £2.3bn a year out of the pockets of some of Britain's poorest households in 2013-14 alone according to the Child Poverty Action Group.

I am sick and tired of reading headlines such as the ones opposite. I am disgusted with the amount of contempt and acidic vitriol that is being aimed at those who depend on state benefits (not handouts) to survive, to feed their families and to keep the lights on. But today I am going to look at the facts, I am going to give them to you in their raw data and you can see for yourself just how big a 'problem' those on benefits really are.

On the 4th of March the Joint Public Issues Team (An initiative set up by the Baptist, Methodist and United Reform Churches) published their report: The Truth and Lies About Poverty. It provided a detailed breakdown of just who claims what type of benefits and how much it actually costs. The information is available in its raw data here: JPIT Report.

All too often we read in the Daily Mail, The Sun or other ignominious rags that the majority of DLA (Disability Living Allowance) claimants are doing so because of their addiction to alcohol or some sort of self-centred substance abuse.
Take this Telegraph headline above for example.
You may think that this is a disgrace and that the number is far too high? Perhaps you're right, however substance abuse is an incredibly complex issue and out of an estimated 2m people currently suffering from substance abuse related illnesses only 3.85% are claiming DLA. Not the massive majority of DLA claimants that the Torygraph would have you believing.

In fact, according to the JPIT report, that 3.85% of substance abuse sufferers makes up less than 2% of the total amount of people claiming benefits in the UK. The vast majority if DLA claimants (70.05%) are doing so due to a neurological, mental or muscular/bone/joint condition. That figure includes degenerative/progressive illnesses such as MS, Parkinson's and Alzheimers.  The number of people claiming DLA who are unable to work due to a terminal illness is 1.07%.

But what about Housing Benefit? Surely we're getting our hard-earned money siphoned off to pay for houses for people who don't want to work? Actually, no. If you read the Daily Fail Mail you might have seen this headline last year:

The majority of people in the UK that claim housing benefit (55.94%) to be exact actually claim less than £4,000 per household per year. 10.21% claim between £10,000 and £13,000 and a staggering 0.01% (400 people) claim £40,000 in housing benefit per year per household. We aren't shelling out billions for 'benefit cheats' to diddle us out of our taxes to keep a roof over their heads. 20% of those who claim housing benefit are also in part time or full time employment.

What about fraud? Scroungers lie to get their benefits, don't they? Well, yes, some benefit claimants do cheat the system, and they should be reported and punished. However it's not the masses, it's not every single person who claims welfare payments, in fact only 0.09% of welfare claims are fraudulent. The sensationalist headlines in the media regarding the overwhelming scandal of benefit cheats are in fact total crap. There is no massive conspiracy, there is no major scandal and yet the Coalition have used these headlines to justify a systemic attack on the welfare system.

Don't people have kids in order to get free money off the Government? Again, no. The JPIT report has found that only 8% of families on benefits have 3 or more children, which works out the same as the national UK average as a whole.

Lone parents make up only 12.7% of the total out of work benefit claimants in the UK, which accounts for 2.5% of the total cost of all UK benefits to the taxpayer. Families with children who receive state welfare payments also make up only 19.1% of the total UK benefits bill, and maternity payments are even less at 1.7% of total payments.

But those on welfare enjoy it, they have an easier life. That's another complete myth. Department of Work and Pensions Minister, Conservative MP Ian Duncan Smith claimed today that he could live comfortably on £53 a week. Well I challenge him to live on £53 a week for the next 12 months, put your money where your mouth is, Minister. The JPIT report found that in Scottish men, those who were on benefits were, on average, to have a life expectancy of 66 years, while the wealthiest 10th of the population had a lie expectancy of 79 years.

I have also heard the myth that those claiming welfare payments actually caused the deficit that the UK Is currently suffering from. If you look at the figures you can see for yourself. Quantative Easing actually made the richest 10th of the population richer by an average of £300k per year per household, whilst the poorest 10th were made worse off by an average of around £800 less per year per household.

You might think that they can get jobs just like the rest of us and stop complaining. Well, the problem is the availability of jobs for those who are low skilled and who lack qualifications. The Coalition boasted that it had created half a million jobs since coming into power in 2010. The Office of National Statistics discovered that Government 'work for free' schemes had muddied the numbers to the tune of 105,000 jobs (roughly20%) being unpaid internships or steps to work placements and those in them were also claiming benefit as the schemes didn't pay them a wage.

Availability of jobs compared to the size of the population is a massive issue, too. Adzuna, a job search engine, compiled a study in 2012 which showed that in Hull an average of 55 people applied for each job vacancy, 36 in Sunderland and 14 in Bradford. The ONS released figures at the start of 2012 indicating that there are roughly 400,000 jobs available at any one time in the UK, however there are roughly 6 people chasing each vacancy with 2.68m+ currently unemployed. No matter how the data is analysed, there is no possible way that everyone who is currently looking for work will actually find it in any capacity.

I will be unemployed soon, I did not choose to be and I am not looking forward to my 'comfy' life on £50 per week. Don't buy into the spin from the Coalition, look at the figures for yourself and wake up to what is going on.

Most of you have probably by now heard or at least read about US alternative folk singer Michelle Shocked's alleged homophobic rant at her show last week in Yoshi's in San Francisco. Now Michelle was mildly popular in the late 80s/early 90s and for a time was even thought to be a lesbian herself. She has denied that she intended to come across as homophobic and was simply 'apologizing' for the intolerance of other Christians (she identifies as such).


A few days later Michelle posted an open letter, responding to the controversy, which can be read in full here:  An Open Letter From Michelle Shocked.

A few days after the letter was issued, talk-radio host Nicole Sander (pictured)  invited Shocked onto her show to talk about the incident, only to be met with bizarre Twitter rants from the singer who at first refused to answer her phone and when she did, descended into nonsensical soundbites and read excerpts from her prepared statement. Personally, I had never heard of Michelle Shocked before this entire drama started to play out, and it's unlikely that her career will recover from this. Her popularity had waned considerably in recent years due to shifting tastes in music however this little burst of publicity has definitely strangled any chance she had of a comeback as every single venue in her upcoming tour has cancelled her shows. 

It's 2013, it's not OK to be a homophobe any more. It never was, however societal attitudes have changed considerably and people like Michelle Shocked can't expect to get away with it, and nor should they. 
If you want to watch/listen to Nicole's show and Michelle Shocked's bizarre interview with her, click here:
Nicole Sandler Show - Sadly Shocked and Awed

I was pleased to read this morning that the UK High Court has ruled that Transport For London's ban on the  Core-Issues 'ex-gay' adverts was lawful, despite also ruling that the process for enacting the ban had been rather bungled. These ads and indeed Core-Issues have no place in the 21st Century in the UK, Ireland or anywhere else for that matter. The idea that you can somehow change your sexuality from gay to straight with enough therapy, motivation and in most cases prayer, is an offensive and dangerous thing to advocate.

The premise rests upon the idea that sexuality is a chosen or learned behavior much in the same way as language or religion and that it is a superficial facet of someone's personality that can be changed if they just try hard enough. Wrong. Time after time studies have proven that sexuality, even heterosexuality, cannot be changed, altered or indeed reset, despite how barbaric or horrific the methods employed are (Shidlo & Schroeder, 2002). Electric shock therapy and other types of pain therapy (such as being forced to hold blocks of ice) as a type of aversive conditioning are used to 'treat' homosexuality. By forcing the individual to experience pain when they are shown videos of gay porn or photos of men kissing and holding hands are often used as a form of psychological warfare to literally scare them straight. Does this sound like the kind of thing that has any place in society?

The ex-gay movement by its very definition is an oxymoron, a non entity, it doesn't exist. Yes I am certain that there are gay men who for either social or religious reasons have 'chosen' to play it straight in order to fit in. But they aren't the problem here. Societal attitudes are.

"If the topic is a political issue with opposing opinions, but in the case of gay-to-straight conversion, having guests who represent “both sides of the issue” creates a false dichotomy as if we are looking at two equal sides of an issues.  In this case the sides are reason and madness–health and harm–sound medical practice versus quakery performed by unlicensed and untrained religiously motivated bigots." - Joseph Toscano, survivor of the ex-gay movement

I never chose to be gay, when I came out it was horrendous and painful for me as my family weren't accepting at all and indeed I did entertain the idea of conversion therapy as a way of 'getting round' my flaming homosexuality. But why the hell should I have to? Just because an aspect of my personality that I can't control offends someone, why should I put myself through a painful, dangerous and sometimes life-destroying process just so they can sleep better at night, knowing that I won't be living my life as the person I deserve to be? To hell with that.

You are not an illness, you are not a disease, you are not 'intrinsically disordered'. You are who you are, and if someone doesn't like it then they can get the Hell out of the way. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you don't deserve to be as happy and have the same right to be yourself as they do.

This is my first piece in a short series on conversion therapy. Stay tuned.

Samuel Brinton talks about his experiences of conversion therapy

This pretty much sums up the Coalition For Marriage's entire reasoning for opposing equal marriage. The crux of the argument being "Gay people shouldn't be allowed near kids." They haven't put forward one single proposal or argument that is based in fact, unlike the various equal marriage campaigns. 

How many reports and studies need to be produced before these people understand that there is *no* evidence to suggest that same-sex couples are incapable of raising well rounded children with the same opportunities, values and life skills as a heterosexual couple? The residue of Clause 28 is all over this like a rash. Disgusting.

Of all the things I take for anted in the world, one of the most important is probably my mother. I can't thank her enough for the sacrificing she has made for me, my brother and my father and by doing so she has given me the best chances and the opportunity to succeed at the expense of her own career and her own goals. That is something I can never thank her for enough, and I only hope that she knows that I try to make her proud in everything that I do, in how I treat people and I can only hope that in the work that I do I can embody the principles and values she has tried to instil in me and my brother.

I have watched my mother fight tooth and nail to give me the best chance to flourish, and yes we have had our disagreements, we have had our tears, arguments and even our moments when we thought that we would ever speak again. But you only get one mum, and I have honestly no idea what I would do without her. Here's to you, Mum, and I thank God for the blessed days I have had with you and the many days still to come.

Yesterday Alliance enjoyed a successful 43rd Annual Conference in the La Mon Hotel and Country Club on the outskirts of East Belfast. It has been a tumultuous 4 months, our Cllrs, MLAs and MP have had death threats, have been intimidated, had their homes attacked and have quite literally been through the fire as party leader David Ford MLA addressed in his speech.

I myself had the privilege and honour of addressing the conference on 'A Shared Future For Me' and why I joined the party, along with my colleagues Kathleen Ireton, Stephen Donnelly and Cllr Laura McNamee. It is an honour to be a member of a party that is looking to the future, that is working towards bridging divides and that is growing in membership, support and that will continue to move from strength to strength.

I have detailed below the transcript of my own speech on why I joined the party, and why I truly believe that Alliance is for everyone. An audio of the entire panel can be found here (courtesy of Alan Meban)

"The reasons I have for joining Alliance are varied and complex, much like my identity. I am Protestant, working class, I was raised in a Christian home and I am openly gay. I am British by citizenship, I am Irish and Scottish by heritage and my home is Northern Ireland. 

I joined Alliance in March of 2012 because I know first hand the consequences of living in a divided society, after coming out as gay in 2008 I had my eyes opened to the intolerance and prejudice that still needs to be tackled in the new Northern Ireland.

The last few months have shown us that we have a long way to go, but Alliance has demonstrated that it is prepared to lead the way and while other parties focus on the past. I joined Alliance because they are actually building a shared future for not just Catholics and Protestants, but for everyone, and for me. 

Being openly gay in Northern Ireland is by no means easy, it is true that we have come on leaps and bounds since 1982 when the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the criminalisation of homosexuality violated human rights laws and yes, societal attitudes are slowly changing, but Alliance can and will lead that change. 

The work of our elected reps in relation to equal marriage, the blood ban, same-sex adoption and the advancement of workplace rights for LGB people by the Employment and Learning Minister, Dr Stephen Farry, have given me confidence that Alliance is truly committed to breaking down the often impossibly high walls of division in society. 

I am confident that the only way forward is to engage in positive politics to build a society in which everyone can be themselves and celebrate who they are in a respectful way and ensuring that we are all listened to and we are all valued equally. 

Our society is made up of more than just two or three communities and in order to bring about a shared future we have to make sure we work together to understand and help each other and make the tough choices together, whether we are Protestant or Catholic, Transgender or Bisexual, Hindu or Muslim, Gay or Straight, British, Irish, Northen Irish or other. 

I joined Alliance because I believe in a society where there is no ‘Us and Them’ but simply ‘All of Us Together’. We have a realistic chance and a fantastic opportunity to make a difference for tomorrow’s generation. Only by drawing our divided society together can we hope to achieve that.

I want to close by quoting President Barack Obama, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
Thank you."


David Ford's speech can be found in full by clicking on the photo below, whilst the entire conference summary has been detailed by Alan Meban on Slugger O'Toole, the link can be found here.