Oxford Union Students want gay parents in huge debate win

No Scott Lively and “this house would be glad to have gay parents”

By Melanie Nathan, January 17, 2012.

Gay parenting won the Oxford Union debate this Thursday evening, with a resounding majority happy to have gay parents.

The topic “this house would be glad to have gay parents”,  was debated at the traditional Thursday night event, and the motion was carried with 345 votes to 21, according to Pink News.

Arguing for the motion, the winning team of the debate, was PinkNews.co.uk and Out4Marriage founder, Benjamin Cohen, gay rights activist, Richard Fairbass of the band Right Said Fred, and Phyll Opoku-Gyimah of Black Pride UK.  Debating against the motion was Peter D Williams of Catholic Voices, anti-abortion activist Anthony McCarthy and anti-equality activist, Lynette Burrows.

Arguing for the motion, PinkNews.co.uk founder, Benjamin Cohen, said: “When I get married to my gay partner I will have a wedding, like my parents did, not a ‘gay’ wedding”.

Ms Burrows said as part of her argument against the motion that Benjamin Cohen would be a “pretend father’ and criticized the motion as “sinister”. She went on to say that it would be a “travesty” for any child to have same-sex parents. She also implied that it society should go back to a time when gay people were considered “sodomites”. We can see her argument carried little weight.

According to Pink News Scott Lively, a staunch anti-gay evangelical Christian, was scheduled to speak at the debate, “but was unable to attend because of an administrative oversight.”  He was replaced on the ‘against’ panel by George Hargreaves, the leader of the Christian Party.” Pink News notes that Apparently Scott Lively will speak on January 31,  at another debate on a different topic.  Yet Matt Handley tweeted via Oxford Union  that Lively “pulled out of tonight’s debate.” Then in a later tweet noted that “he’s rescheduled for two weeks time.”

O-Blog-Dee broke the news on January 11th that Scott Lively had received the Oxford Union invitation to debate the parenting topic on the 17th as per the debate agenda,  yet already a week ago, we were dumbfounded that while the Oxford Union Information reflected the January 17th date, Lively’s Blog referred to a January 31st date; and so the tweeted claims by Oxford Union organizers that Lively was “re-scheduled” and that he will be “speaking” at another event, (not debating) makes no sense at this time.

We do not yet know the topic that Lively will debate on the 31st, if any, as it seems he may be “speaking at a special event.”

In our Jan 11th article we noted:

” It is unfathomable that of all the people able to participate in such a debate, the Oxford Union would allow such an offensive guest on its role of esteemed. Surely Oxford Union knows that it has invited the author of The Pink Swastika, the re-write of history blaming the holocaust on the Gays, with a Nazi designed website to match? Not to mention The redeeming Rainbow and a Truth Abiding Ministries website that refers to homosexuality as a “global threat.”

Sources have informed us that there is a strong chance Lively could be denied entry into the United Kingdom.

UPDATED 1/18 10.30 am PST:

MMMM my nice Jewish G-d works in strange ways. Funny Scott Lively GAY Hatemonger @OxfordUnion  was due to speak last night in a debate re ‘gay rights’, but an alleged error saw him given the date of the Israel debate on 31st January instead.    As Mr Lively had already arranged his travel around that date, the President-Elect of the Union has  offered to schedule an additional event for him to speak on Friday 1st February.  Hope the UK people give him the welcome he deserves

SOME TWEETS from the debate:

Oxford Union @OxfordUnion
The motion is carried! 345 votes to just 21… #emphatic #gayparents thanks to our guest speakers and everyone who braved the cold to come!

3h Oxford Union @OxfordUnion
Full house voting with their feet … Watch this space for results! And thanks to @AngelsinOxford for their performance before the debate

3h Oxford Union @OxfordUnion
Lynette Burrows claims @benjamincohen wouldn’t be a father but a ‘pretend father’ and criticises ‘sinister motion’

3h Oxford Union @OxfordUnion
@RFairbrass concludes case for prop – rebuts Anthony McCarthy’s claim that same-sex couples less ‘committed’

3h Oxford Union @OxfordUnion
Some great student floor speeches tonight – as of this term all floor speakers invited to drinks reception with speakers after the debate

4h Oxford Union @OxfordUnion
George Hargreaves of the Christian Party quotes scripture, emphasises the importance of ‘honour thy father and thy mother’

4h Oxford Union @OxfordUnion
Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, co-founder of Black Pride UK, says she is proud to be a woman, a lesbian and a mother

4h Oxford Union @OxfordUnion
Make sure you head to the bar after the debate to hear the result…

4h Oxford Union @OxfordUnion
@PeterDCXW continues case for opp, criticises methodology of studies cited by pro-same sex parenting groups

4h Oxford Union @OxfordUnion
Anthony McCarthy opens matters for the opposition, arguing same sex couples are less ‘committed’ than heterosexual couples

4h Oxford Union @OxfordUnion
Crawford Jamieson of Trinity College makes a passionately personal proposition speech

4h Oxford Union @OxfordUnion
@benjamincohen ‘when I get married to my gay partner I will have a wedding, like my parents did, not a ‘gay’ wedding’

4h Oxford Union @OxfordUnion
We’re debating ‘This House Would be Glad to Have Gay Parents’ before a packed chamber tonight!