- Save Ulster from Sodomy
"Save Ulster from Sodomy" was a political campaign launched in 1977 by the Rev.
Ian Paisley , MP, leader of theDemocratic Unionist Party (DUP) and head of the Free Presbyterian Church, to prevent the decriminalisation of homosexual acts inNorthern Ireland . [cite news |url=http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/archive/1977/1020/Pg007.html#Ar00702:2070E82811412471B426D1D119A13A21D19418C1921BC1AF2B51B42DD1D11E12E12012F627056B29258024413D3191962EA1B532C1D129F0EA3491442771B42AC1D11893A61B33BB |title=Paisley campaigns to 'save Ulster from Sodomy' |author= |work=The Irish Times |page=7 |date=20 October 1977 |accessdate=2008-05-07] The campaign was ultimately unsuccessful.Origins
Homosexual acts were first decriminalised in the
United Kingdom in 1967 in the legal constituency ofEngland and Wales , under theSexual Offences Act 1967 . This change in law did not apply to Northern Ireland orScotland . In 1975 the Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association was established to campaign to have the act extended to Northern Ireland. In response to the government's proposal to consider law reform Paisley launched "Save Ulster from Sodomy", a campaign given a further boost when the law was extended to Scotland in 1980. The campaign was based on his belief that theBible condemns homosexuality as asin , which should therefore not be legally acceptable in a state founded on Christian principles.The campaign itself was particularly linked to the Free Presbyterian wing of the DUP, and combined religious and political rhetoric. It focused on Paisley's belief in his role to save the "Ulster people" from those influences which he believed undermined their Christian beliefs and values, namely
liberalism ,secularism andRoman Catholicism .In 1981 the
European Court of Human Rights in the case of Jeffrey Dudgeon v. the United Kingdom, issued a binding ruling that the British Government was in breach of Article 8 (the right to a private life) of theEuropean Convention of Human Rights by refusing to decriminalise homosexual acts between consenting adults in Northern Ireland. Consequently, despite Paisley's campaign, homosexual acts in Northern Ireland were decriminalised in 1982.The DUP remains opposed to homosexuality, and in September 2004 the British government agreed to postpone a vote in the House of Commons on the Civil Partnerships Bill to avoid a clash with talks aimed aimed restoring devolved rule in Northern Ireland. All six DUP
Members of Parliament planned to vote against the bill. [cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2004/sep/19/uk.northernireland |title=Blair delays gay marriage bill to give Paisley party chance to vote |author=Henry McDonald |work=The Observer |date=19 September 2004 |accessdate=2008-05-07]References
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