How Brown brown-nosed gays

So Prime Minister Gordon Brown thinks California’s Proposition 8 – the nasty piece of state legislation supported by malicious religionists that made same-sex marriage illegal – is unacceptable.

He said this at a reception last night to mark LGBT History Month (it’s a February thing, but the reception was postponed for a week as a mark of respect for Opposition leader David Cameron and his wife, whose six-year-old son had died).

This was the first-ever reception at Number 10 Downing Sreet for the LGBT community, and was hosted by the Prime Minister and his wife.

Brown had returned home only yesterday morning from the States, where he had been meeting President Barack Obama.

Pink News tells us:

“What I saw in America tells me what we have got to do,” Mr Brown said.

“This Proposition 8 in California, this attempt to undo good that has been done, this attempt to create divorces for 18,000 people who were perfectly legally brought together in partnerships.

“This is unacceptable and this shows why we have always got to be vigilant, always got to fight homophobic behaviour and any form of discrimination.

“I want to say to you all, you have broken new ground, you have shown what can be done, you have shown how you can change opinion in our country, you have shown how the legislative process, by your pressure, can respond.”

Two questions:

1. Would he express such sentiments to a group of Christians – especially of the evangelical variety?

2. If he’s so in favour of same-sex marriage, why isn’t he making loud noises to have it over here in the UK, instead of civil partnerships?

Two answers:

1. No.

2. Because he'd upset a whole constituency that has voting power – and a religious constituency to boot (as we know, religion is special and ever so good).

Yes, he made noises the gay community like to hear, and no doubt many of the dear souls were lapping it up in their naïveté, with no doubt a large dose of sycophancy in the presence of the great and the good.

But, just as his predecessor Blair did, and just as his successor will no doubt do (whether NuLabour or Tory), he was saying what sounded good to a particular audience. Next week he’ll say nice things to an audience of a different stripe. He’ll tell them what they want to hear.

He won’t exactly tell a bunch of right-wing Christians or gay-hating Muslims that it’s right to hate poofs. Oh, no, he won’t do that, exactly. But he’ll be making noises they want to hear about how important their religious delusions are in the scheme of things – thus bolstering their bigotry, of course, albeit in an indirect way, by telling them they’re nice guys.

So, pardon me for being a bit suspicious, but let us not trust those who always tell people what they want to hear.

But Brown’s a politician. What else do you expect?