OUR LATEST ISSUE
Lib Dem leader described David Cameron as very difficult to trust on the issue of gay rights
Clegg: David Cameron is difficult to trust
Nick Clegg: Faith schools must teach that homosexuality is normal and harmless
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has said that all schools - including faith schools - should be legally obliged to teach that homosexuality is "normal and harmless" and implement anti-homophobia bullying policies.
In an interview in the latest edition of gay lifestyle magazine Attitude, Clegg also proposed that gay couples should have the same marital rights as straight couples, including the use of the word 'marriage'; that the ban on blood donations by gay men should be abolished; that refugees genuinely fleeing a country because of persecution due to their sexual orientation should be guaranteed asylum in the UK; and that Uganda's membership of the Commonwealth should be reviewed if it imposed the death penalty for homosexuality.
Clegg's proposals were followed by an attack on the Conservatives, describing David Cameron as "very difficult to trust" on the issue of gay rights, citing his record over Section 28 and his party's alliance with right-wing anti-gay parties in Europe.
"I don't really know what he believes in," Clegg said. "I don't know what his convictions are and the reason is because they keep changing - and they seem to change for convenience.
“So when it mattered, when people went through the lobby to vote on Section 28, his convictions were on the wrong side. Suddenly they've changed and we get an apology."
On the depth of Cameron's party's commitment to gay rights, he said: "The surveys of a lot of the next generation of Conservative MPs show a massive residue of indifference at best, prejudice at worst."
Clegg complimented Labour on its track record on gay rights which has included the introduction of civil partnerships, the equalisation of the age of consent and the repeal of Section 28. But more must be done, he said, to make Britain a place free from discrimination.
