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Josh Withey
Jul 08, 2017
It's Pride in London, UK Black Pride and Pride in the Park this weekend, and the LGBT+ community and its allies are celebrating visibility up and down the streets of London.
However, not everything is smiles and rainbows. Pride remains just as much a protest as a celebration. There are still huge diversity, discrimination and human rights abuses suffered by the LGBT community around the world that need urgently combating.
It's with this in mind that I askyou to cast your mind back to the 2017 snap general election.
You might recall that Theresa May was forced to ally herself with the Democratic Unionist Party, in order to secure a majority in Parliament, pass the Queen's Speech and clutch onto power.
The DUP's outlooks on homosexuality are, to put it mildly, rather backward.
Ian Paisley Jr, who won the seat of North Antrim and is the son of the party's founder, once said:
I am pretty repulsed by gay and lesbianism. I think it is wrong. I think that those people harm themselves and – without caring about it – harm society. That doesn't mean to say that I hate them – I mean, I hate what they do.
While Iris Robinson, former MP for Strangford, and wife of former First Minister for Northern Ireland, Peter Robinson said in the House of Commons in 2008.
There can be no viler act, apart from homosexuality and sodomy, than sexually abusing innocent children.
I cannot think of anything more sickening than a child being abused. It is comparable to the act of homosexuality. I think they are all comparable. I feel totally repulsed by both.
So, it's no surprise that when Theresa May posted a video wishing everyone a "wonderful day at Pride in London" it didn't go down too well.
Whenever we face difficulties - as individuals, as communities or as a couple - the way to overcome them is by standing together in mutual support and solidarity.
Many people have shared videos and tweets of the PM's appearance on the big screens in Trafalgar Square expressing their anger at her hypocrisy for siding with such an prominently anti-LGBT party.
The crowd can be heard booing as she appears.
Many others have used Pride in London to protest the DUP directly, with one floating sign simply reading:
F*ck the DUP.
Mrs May's voting record on LGBT rights isn't ideal, although it has improved dramatically since she joined the front bench of the Conservative Party.
According to the website They Vote For You, May voted against reducing the age of consent for 'homosexual acts' from 18 to 16, and voted no on the Adoption and Children Bill (involving the suitability of adopters).
She did however, vote in favour of both civil partnerships and same-sex marriage.
To find out if your MP supports equal rights for the LGBT community, just put your postcode in here.
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