Daily Mail claims persecution of homosexuals in law 'ended' 50 years ago - Polidicks

[quote] A housing manager has been demoted, and his salary slashed, after he criticised a controversial new gay rights law. Adrian Smith, a Christian, was found guilty of gross misconduct by his publicly funded housing association for saying that allowing gay weddings in churches was ‘an equality too far’. He posted the comment in his own time, on his personal page on the Facebook website, which could not be read by the general public. But after a disciplinary hearing, he was downgraded from his £35,000-a-year managerial job to a much less senior £21,000 post – and avoided the sack only because of his long service. Pay cut: Adrian Smith's annual salary was reduced from £35,000 to £21,000 after he described gay marriages in churches as an 'equality too far' on his private Facebook page Mr Smith, 54, is now taking the association to court, arguing that his punishment was out of proportion and his right to free speech was ignored. Friends said last night the father of two had been ‘shocked and distressed’ by his treatment and would now face financial hardship. Campaigners attacked the housing association’s decision – the latest in a series of cases in which Christians have clashed with employers – as a ‘complete over-reaction’ by an organisation ‘drenched in political correctness’. Mr Smith has worked for 18 years for Trafford Council and Trafford Housing Trust, which manages more than 9,000 homes in Sale, Greater Manchester. But he now finds his career in tatters over a comment he wrote on his personal Facebook page one Sunday morning in response to a BBC story headlined ‘Gay church “marriages” get go-ahead’. The story referred to Government plans to lift the ban on homosexual couples holding civil partnerships in churches and other religious settings. Service: Mr Smith has worked for 18 years for Trafford Council and Trafford Housing Trust Mr Smith, whose Facebook profile identified him as working for the Trust as a housing manager, commented: ‘An equality too far.’ A few hours later, one of his Facebook friends, a work colleague whose identity is not known to The Mail on Sunday, posted: ‘Does this mean you don’t approve?’ The following evening after work, Mr Smith, who attends an evangelical church in Bolton, responded: ‘No, not really. I don’t understand why people who have no faith and don’t believe in Christ would want to get hitched in church. ‘The Bible is quite specific that marriage is for men and women. If the State wants to offer civil marriages to the same sex then that is up to the State; but the State shouldn’t impose its rules on places of faith and conscience.’ Lawyers for Mr Smith, whom friends describe as affable and non-confrontational, say his comments were merely expressing an ‘honest belief’ based on his Christian faith. The proposed new law, on which the Government is consulting, will allow churches to open their doors to gay ceremonies if they wish, although the Church of England is refusing to participate. The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, is among those to have criticised the plan for blurring the ‘clear distinction’ between homosexual partnerships and heterosexual marriage. Mr Smith was disciplined after a second colleague complained to the Trust’s ‘equality and diversity lead’, Helen Malone. A few days later, Mr Smith was summoned from his home to a meeting at the Trust’s headquarters in Sale, where he was told he was being suspended while the complaint was investigated. He was warned that even though his Facebook page could be viewed only by registered friends, rather than by the general public, those readers included colleagues who had taken issue with his comments. A shocked Mr Smith, who managed a team looking after local housing issues, immediately removed the reference to where he worked from the page. The following month he was called to a disciplinary meeting before Mike Corfield, the Trust’s Assistant Director, Customers. Although Mr Smith was allowed to put his case, insiders described the meeting as ‘tense and fraught’. According to legal documents lodged at Manchester County Court, Debbie Gorman, a ‘neighbourhood manager’ also at the meeting, said Mr Smith’s comment could cause offence. She said she had interpreted it as saying ‘gay people are not as equal as people who are not gay’ and that the comment could be viewed as homophobic. Mr Corfield said it was not the comment but its potential misinterpretation that was at issue, but still ruled that Mr Smith had committed a serious breach of discipline for which he could be dismissed. But because of his loyal service, Mr Smith was instead demoted to money support adviser, handling rent collection. His pay was reduced to £21,396, phased in over a year, and he was given a final written warning. Homophobic? Mr Smith was suspended after a colleague complained to his employer Trafford Housing Trust's Diversity Officer Mr Smith has been advised he cannot speak to the press, but his solicitor Tom Ellis, of Aughton Ainsworth in Manchester, said: ‘Adrian was shocked and distressed to have been disciplined in this way. He never expected this to happen – it came completely out of the blue. ‘We sent a letter to the Trust asking that Adrian be given back his job but they refused to respond substantively. Adrian had no other choice but to seek justice through the court. ‘As a Christian, Adrian believes in the values of fairness, courtesy and respect for the opinions of others. Surely that leaves room for colleagues to discuss and even disagree about the topics of the day? ‘Conversations like that happen in offices and factories up and down the country every day. ‘When Adrian was told that he was being demoted with a 40 per cent cut in salary, he was stunned. It was all the more shocking because this was being done in the name of equality and diversity. 'Nothing he said was offensive or abusive. His comments were calm, measured and reasonable. ‘Adrian has been treated disproportionately. Even those who disagree with his opinions will surely agree that he has been treated badly.’ An internal appeal upheld the original decision, except to rule that the reduction in Mr Smith’s pay would be phased in over two years. Mr Smith’s lawyers say his comments fall far short of gross misconduct and they are claiming damages equivalent to his lost pay. They also dispute that Mr Smith has broken the Trust’s code of conduct, which bans staff from making ‘derogatory’ comments about it. They say the Trust has breached his contract because no attempt was made to resolve the row except through the disciplinary procedure. Although Mr Smith was forced to undergo equality training in 2008 after a Muslim woman alleged he had not treated her fairly, his lawyers said this was irrelevant to the current case. In 2007, he was praised by the Trust’s £145,000-a-year chief executive, Matthew Gardiner, for his charity work among poor women and children in Uganda. Last year, the Trust, which employs 360 staff, was awarded a ‘quality mark’ from a gay support group for its work training staff in recognising homophobic hate crime. But it has also angered a number of elderly residents by ordering them to remove garden benches and flower pots from outside their flats for health-and-safety reasons. The organisation, which took over homes in 2005 from Trafford Council, receives most of its money in rent from tenants, but it can also apply for public money and last month won Government funds for an £8 million new project. Mike Judge of the Christian Institute, which is backing the case, said: ‘We’re not talking about a Christian who shoves his opinions down the throats of his colleagues. ‘Mr Smith made completely tame and inoffensive remarks outside of work time on his personal Facebook page. His bosses should get some sense of perspective. ‘It is a complete over-reaction by a housing trust that is clearly drenched in political correctness.’ But Trust commercial director David Barrow said: ‘The Trust has an equal opportunities policy and Mr Smith’s comments on Facebook, where he identified himself as a Trust employee, went against this policy. ‘We expect employees at all levels to act respectfully. This applies in person and on social media.’ But a local Church of England vicar, Kate Burgess of St Matthew’s Church in Trafford, said: ‘I do feel that Christians are persecuted in this country, and this may be another example of that. I don’t know all the facts of this case, but it does seem like an over-reaction.’ [/quote] The part in the headline is from the Daily Mail Comment: [quote]A THREAT TO THE FREEDOM OF ALL OF US MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT : The cruel persecution of homosexuals by the law was rightly ended more than 50 years ago. One of its worst features was that it operated as a ‘Blackmailer’s Charter’, exposing its victims to denunciation and worse. Yet at that time, punishment for holding an opinion was unthinkable, something that happened only in communist tyrannies. But in modern Britain there are frequent cases of people being threatened for expressing politically incorrect views. And threatening someone’s livelihood is nearly as devastating as a jail sentence. Much of our public sector is run by intolerant Leftists and governed by severe speech codes based on ‘Equality and Diversity’. They have a special hostility towards Christians because Christianity is what they seek to supplant and replace. And they choose the issue of homosexuality on which to fight. Opponents can all too easily be falsely portrayed as persecutors of individual homosexuals. Adrian Smith’s unfashionable opinions on the issue of gay marriage in church are reasonable, politely expressed and – above all – his own business. The sinister process by which he has been denounced and then impoverished is deeply disturbing. His beliefs have nothing to do with his performance of his duties. Will the Trafford Housing Trust now encourage its tenants to inform on each other for having incorrect views, evicting those who are insufficiently Left-wing? It would be quite consistent with what it has done to Mr Smith. If the Trust’s high-handed and despotic behaviour goes unchallenged, all of us will be significantly less free. And a new ‘Blackmailer’s Charter’ will eventually be born. [/quote] Source: [url]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2052319/Adrian-Smith-demoted-backing-gay-marriage-criticising-new-law-Facebook.html[/url]

it's absolutely true because it's written in the daily mail

[QUOTE=Kalibos;32930636]it's absolutely true because it's written in the daily mail[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eBT6OSr1TI[/url]

[QUOTE=Kalibos;32930636]it's absolutely true because it's written in the daily mail[/QUOTE] GAYS CAUSE CANCER

[QUOTE=Zeke129;32930869]GAYS CAUSE CANCER[/QUOTE] its true!!!!!

[quote]Much of our public sector is run by intolerant Leftists and governed by severe speech codes based on ‘Equality and Diversity’. They have a special hostility towards Christians because Christianity is what they seek to supplant and replace. And they choose the issue of homosexuality on which to fight. Opponents can all too easily be falsely portrayed as persecutors of individual homosexuals.[/quote] Persecution complex indeed.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;32930869]GAYS CAUSE CANCER[/QUOTE] Correction: [B][U]FAGS CAUSE CANCER[/U][/B]. (Only the mail is a little too dumb for a pun)

[QUOTE=Ray-The-Sun;32930989]Correction: [B][U]FAGS CAUSE CANCER[/U][/B]. (Only the mail is a little too dumb for a pun)[/QUOTE] [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Zwei_zigaretten.jpg/250px-Zwei_zigaretten.jpg[/img] They really do!

[quote] ‘An equality too far.’[/quote] Ugh.

[quote]But a local Church of England vicar, Kate Burgess of St Matthew’s Church in Trafford, said: ‘I do feel that Christians are persecuted in this country, and this may be another example of that.[/quote] Woman, you do not know how good you have it.

[quote]But a local Church of England vicar, Kate Burgess of St Matthew’s Church in Trafford, said: ‘I do feel that Christians are persecuted in this country, and this may be another example of that. I don’t know all the facts of this case, but it does seem like an over-reaction.’[/quote] Oh the irony And my fucking ARSE are you persecuted.

‘an equality too far’ Does that even make sense?

Damn, I guess you guys have hicks in Britain too then?

[QUOTE=ewitwins;32937436]Damn, I guess you guys have hicks in Britain too then?[/QUOTE] There are hicks everywhere, They just come in different flavours.

Haha, Kate Burgess should trying going to the middle east. See how she likes getting stoned/beheaded for walking around without a man

Getting his salary cut by £14,000 is too harsh.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;32937593]Getting his salary cut by £14,000 is too harsh.[/QUOTE] You fucking bigot, opinions are evil!

[QUOTE]an equality too far[/QUOTE] I'm sorry, What? Ever hear the phrase "You can never have too much of a good thing"? That's like saying "There's not enough dead children in the world" or "There's not enough bullets in my brain, can I please have some more?".

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;32937593]Getting his salary cut by £14,000 is too harsh.[/QUOTE] From what I understand, it was more a demotion to move him Away from an area where he was allowed to make descisions on who got to stay in the housing he used to manage.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;32930869]GAYS CAUSE CANCER[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4abk9fd_lR4&feature=related[/url]

I would agree that it should be up to the Church of England to decide if they would allow gay marriage in their churches but due to the fact that our head of state is also the head of the Church of England and thus endorsed by the government then the government should represent the people and some of those people are indeed homosexual, this should reflect on the church by allowing gay marriage. I do not believe while a religion that is under the wing of the government should be able to completely make its own decisions on levels of equality such as this, though, the Church of England is known for its pretty liberal stance; they admit that hell is nothing more than a catholic myth and have denounced a lot of other catholic lies that have been told over the years, in fact we would of had gay marriage years ago if it was not for the bullying of other christian churches and anonymous funders backing the church against the wall.

They've got some big balls to print it, 'Cus it's sixty pages of scary bullshiiit.

[QUOTE]But a local Church of England vicar, Kate Burgess of St Matthew’s Church in Trafford, said: ‘I do feel that Christians are persecuted in this country, and this may be another example of that. I don’t know all the facts of this case, but it does seem like an over-reaction.’ [/QUOTE] Why does she believe that her right to religious expression is greater than the right of gays not to be persecuted by bigots like her? For cases like this, tolerance is a bullshit word. It's a bit like someone coming into your living room and pissing on the carpet, you [i]can[/i] tolerate it. I highly doubt anyone here would and most people would tell them to fuck off, but as soon as religion says that God, Yahweh, Allah etc commands them to piss on people's carpet, it's then somehow untouchable to any form of critizism, no matter how compelling.

Shit, breathing causes cancer

[QUOTE=nekosune;32939482]From what I understand, it was more a demotion to move him Away from an area where he was allowed to make descisions on who got to stay in the housing he used to manage.[/QUOTE] Still, it was a demotion based on something he said on his free time and on facebook.

[QUOTE=Vasili;32939549]I would agree that it should be up to the Church of England to decide if they would allow gay marriage in their churches but due to the fact that our head of state is also the head of the Church of England and thus endorsed by the government then the government should represent the people and some of those people are indeed homosexual, this should reflect on the church by allowing gay marriage. I do not believe while a religion that is under the wing of the government should be able to completely make its own decisions on levels of equality such as this, though, the Church of England is known for its pretty liberal stance; they admit that hell is nothing more than a catholic myth and have denounced a lot of other catholic lies that have been told over the years, in fact we would of had gay marriage years ago if it was not for the bullying of other christian churches and anonymous funders backing the church against the wall.[/QUOTE] Yeah the CoE is one of the nicest religions around. Even Dawkins likes it.

[QUOTE=kaven;32943648]Still, it was a demotion based on something he said on his free time and on facebook.[/QUOTE] on Facebook on an account he identified himself as a Trust employee on, meaning what he says on it can, and with some other cases, does, effect the company. moreover then that it is also showing a bias against Gay people, when his job required no such bias.

It's got to be the case if it's written in the Daily Mail

[QUOTE=Lufttygger306;32944021]It's got to be the case if it's written in the Daily Mail[/QUOTE] been Posted a few times Allready To be perfectly honest, the ONLY time I believe what comes out of the mouth of that newspaper, is it's watered down versions of "What the poor innocent man " did.

[QUOTE=Jookia;32937282]‘an equality too far’ Does that even make sense?[/QUOTE] [IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Shakespeare.jpg/240px-Shakespeare.jpg[/IMG]