Across the Pond: British Parliament Approves Gay Marriage

By TinaPJ

The following is cross-posted from fromthemindoftinapj. Read the blog in its entirety here.

Gay Marriage?

So, finally, Parliament caught up with the prevailing mood of the country and voted to allow gay people to marry.  Woohoo.  I’m thrilled.  About time too!

According to those who are against ‘gay marriage’ this is pretty much Sodom and Gomorrah (a bible story which they appear to have misunderstood due to the use of the word ‘sodom’ which is a town name, and gave its name to an act which was not one which only occurred between two men and is therefore not ‘a gay act’).  Marriage is devalued!  Marriage is for procreation!  WON’T SOMEBODY PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

In reality no religious institution is going to be forced to marry same-gender couples if they don’t want to.  Their right to discriminate through religion is protected, and not all religious institutions oppose same-gender mariage anyway.  What is no longer happening is the extension of that discrimination throughout society based on the beliefs of a minority.  Believe what you want, that is your right, but when you use that belief to oppress and discriminate, that is a problem.  If you don’t want a ‘gay marriage’, don’t have one.  Simple.

This wasn’t even about ‘gay marriage’, a misnomer which has been irking me for a while.  This was about equality, and allowing couples who are not one-man/one-woman to be wed.  This was about marriage being available to ALL, not just heterosexual couples (although it is still mono-amorous, but that’s another and way more complicated legal debate).  This was about Marriage Equality, and frankly I’d prefer it if the debate had been titled that, but hey, we won, so meh!

This is a massive step for gender equality also.  Marriage has long been held up by some as oppressive in that it inherently perpetuates traditional gender roles.  This is because it has been “husband/wife”, or worse (as in many religious ceremonies) “man/wife” – seriously, the man remains an autonomous individual and the woman becomes an appendage to his autonomy and defined by her legal relationship to him?  What’s THAT all about?!  I am married, and for me it was a public show of my commitment to and love for my lover/partner/friend/cohabitee-through-life, and provided vital legal protection to boot.  It had nothing to do with expected gender roles, and in reality we are not at all traditional in any way in our marriage.  If marriage is no longer only to be undertaken between the man/woman couple, then the traditional gender roles through which men have retained privilege and women have been oppressed will also be challenged.  Yay!

NTQ! Pods: Thousands protest government plans to close Lewisham Hospital's A&E in London

NTQ! Pods: Danny Boyle sure made the National Health Service look good in his homage to the institution during the Olympics opening ceremony. Yet, under the conservative coalition government NHS funding has also been a victim of austerity.

In south east London, thousands of protesters turned out to show their support for their local hospital in the Borough of Lewisham, which will have its Accident and Emergency Department along with its Maternity ward closed.

The protest was organized by 'Save Lewisham Hospital's A&E', a grassroots group that has been holding public meetings to discuss the closures. Lewisham Hospital's A&E sees some 120,000 patients a year. The closure is also representative of the thousands of cuts that the NHS has faced, which is ultimately leading towards a significantly more privatized healthcare system.

While we Americans are just started to get more equitable healthcare, our British cousins are fighting to keep their healthcare system out of the hands of for-profit companies.

NTQ!'s Heather Turner reports from London.

NTQ! Pods: Mass arrests during London's Critical Mass ride near Olympic Stadium

Pictured: Pavel Gaik, standing with a borrowed bike.

NTQ!'s Heather Turner speaks with Pavel Gaik, who was one of nearly 200 cyclists kettled and detained on Friday night outside of the Olympic Stadium as the opening ceremony unfolded. The cyclists were part of "Critical Mass," a cycling event that is held monthly in London and in hundreds of cities and towns across the globe. When some two hundred cyclists approached the Olympic Stadium, they were met by London's Metropolitan Police and transport police. The Critical Mass cyclists were kettled for hours and later detained on buses. Police later charged three of the cyclists with various crimes including assaulting a police officer, according to the Guardian. Pavel Gaik was one of the one hundred and eighty two cyclists who were detained and had their cycles confiscated.

NTQ! Pods: Olympic Ceremony Preview

Photo by Bowen Sun.

NTQ's Heather Turner speaks with London student Bowen Sun, who watched the Olympic Ceremony's technical rehearsal on Monday night. The Ceremony's director, Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 28 Days Later, 127 Hours), asked the audience made up largely of volunteers, to not reveal the secrets of the show. The 2012 Summer Olympics kicks off in London on Friday.

Olympic Torch passes through Deptford

I woke up bright and early this morning to go see the Olympic Torch, which passed by close to where I live in London. My flatmate, Dave, accompanied me to Deptford High Street. We probably had way too much fun at the time. Also, seriously craving some Coca-cola right now.

Nailing Murdoch: media mogul's influence in UK gov leading up to Iraq War revealed

Getty Images via  The Telegraph

With no signs of the Conservative FOX behemoth slowing in the midst of the election cycle, here in the UK, the man behind the curtain appears to be increasingly vulnerable to scrutiny (and maybe even the law).

Thanks to Prime Minister Tony Blair's Communications Director, Alastair Campbell, detailed diary entries which describe conversations between Rupert Murdoch and Blair have become public. The diary reveals that Murdoch did indeed put pressure on the Blair Administration to speed up British involvement in the Iraq war. Murdoch had previously testified before the Leveson Inquiry that he had never used his position to influence the actions of Prime Ministers. However, the new evidence, detailed extensively by the Guardian, shows that Murdoch made a series of calls to Tony Blair in the weeks leading up to the Iraq war.

NTQ! Update Nov 22

NTQ! Daily Dish Nov 22, 2011 by No to the 'Quo