Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Me on BBC Woman's Hour again today!

So yes I'll be on BBC Radio Four Woman's Hour today again - do tune in, right now. It was pre-recorded so I know what I say, though I don't know what parts of the interview they'll play. Basically Cristina Odone (my opponent) says gay people can have civil partnerships so they are equal. And I say that since marriage and civil partnership aren't the same thing so no, that's not equality. That's like saying black people and white people can both ride the bus, black people just have to sit at the back. It's not equality, equality is when you're equal!

As usual (I've been up against Odone a few times on The Big Questions) she's so short on valid points that she rapidly resorts to criticising how I'm arguing, saying I'm being rude o that I'm ill-educated. At one point the presenter (Jane) asks if I'm married and I say I'm separated. Then a few minutes later I interrupt her point (cos it's bigoted!) and she complains I'm talking over her and starts to say she can see why my relationship has ended, but slightly stops herself just in time! Ha ha ha.

In fairness I criticise her marriage too. She's Catholic and married to a divorced guy. The Catholic church doesn't approve of that marriage but she's chosen to do it anyway. Now she wants to stop other people, gay people, who the church also disapproves of, from enjoying what she has.

You can tune in, or listen again later here.

5 comments:

Foxlute said...

I just listened to your Woman's Hour appearance. Well done. It always cheers up my day to hear Christina Odone being taken to task. I particularly liked "the difference between belief and prejudice" question.

I see anonymous comments are not allowed so let me say I am a married accountant, aged 57 and living in Eric Pickles' constituency. Despite all that, we are not all right-wing, gay bashing, misogynist evangelicals here.

David Fox, Brentwood, Essex.

acousticwilli said...

Actually Kate, you're wrong! I've no axe to grind; I'm not a churchgoer; I'm straight but not prejudiced. However I do acknowledge the churches are right to practice what they believe. It's dead simple really, a no-brainer. Civil law and practice is a civil matter, ecclesiastical law and practice is an ecclesiastical matter. I do not accept that the churches should be allowed to impose their beliefs on the state, in exactly the same way as I do not accept that the state should be free to force its secular views on the churches. This is true equality. If a gay couple wish to 'marry' then lobby the state to change its marriage regulations. But don't expect the churches to change their rules to re-define their understanding of marriage. Church marriage is for church members who accept those organisations' rules. This argument is all to do with semantics and nothing to do with equality, human rights, diversity, and so on. You accuse the churches of prejudice and bigotry but appear to be blind to your own.

Elizabeth said...

Well said!

Elizabeth said...

Well said

Martin UK said...

Nice to see you on Breakfast this morning Kate, we need to see more of you....do you know your neighbours cats' names..?!
Me neither...;)