This week is Gay Pride week in Derry with many events organised across the city. It is a great opportunity for the people of the city to celebrate our diversity and also to tackle some serious issues.
It was notably that we launched the festival in front of Free Derry Corner, so long a symbol of our struggle for civil rights. The struggle for equality for gay people is the new battlefront in the civil rights struggle. Homophobia will only be defeated when all sections of our society, especially government, recognise everyone’s equality.
It is very worrying to see that the Northern Ireland Executive’s Good Relations Strategies do not include the lesbian, gay and bisexual community.
There are significant gaps in the Cohesion Sharing and Integration (CSI) Strategy and the failure in the draft strategy to promote good relations between many sections of our community and the wider community is a fundamental error that needs to be rectified. A CSI Strategy that doesn’t both guarantee equality and accelerate good relations is missing a big part of the picture.
The Rainbow Project, representing gay, lesbian and bisexual people, has rightly identified this as a central issue that needs remedy.
The organisers of this week’s festival have done tremendous work to bring about a greater understanding of the issues affecting the LGBT community and they should be supported. This week is about having fun and celebrating but it is also about facing up to reality.
If we are to really change people’s mindsets we have to ensure that equality for everyone is at the heart of everything we do.
For defs Colum. There would be no harm in having representatives from all communities and groups involved in Pride week which should include Gay Pride. Imagine Gay Pride got support from GAA, Football, all political parties and the churches to join in on the Pride Parade. That would show that the people of Derry still believe in human rights for all and that the spirit of the Human Righst Association and the struggle that expanded from the poverty of Derry still is alive in the fight for equal rights for all citizens ( particularly those who are discriminated – LGBT, Immigrants, the disabled, the elderly). I will be marching as a supporter of civil rights. I would like to see all community leaders taking part and it is probably your job to persuade them to do so.