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| Owen Johns & Eunice Jones Photo By David Parker |
By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) MAR 1 | The British high court has backed a decision by the city council of Derby to ban a couple who are foster parents that say their Christian beliefs condemn homosexuality and they refuse to tell to children they foster that homosexuality is okay. Eunice and Owen Johns, who say their right to be foster parents is being denied because of their religious views, told the BBC speaking outside the high court's building in London:
"All we wanted was to offer a loving home to a child in need. We have a good track record as foster parents. "We have been excluded because we have moral opinions based on our faith and we feel sidelined because we are Christians with normal, mainstream, Christian views on sexual ethics. We are prepared to love and accept any child. All we were not willing to do was to tell a small child that the practice of homosexuality was a good thing."
Lord Justice Munby and Mr Justice Beatson ruled that laws protecting people from discrimination because of their sexual orientation "should take precedence" over the right not to be discriminated against on religious grounds. The Johns are considering an appeal. Derby City Council said previously its first duty was to the children in its care, some of whom were very vulnerable.
LGBTQ Equality Rights organisation Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill in a press release said:
"We’re delighted that the High Court’s landmark decision has favoured 21st-century decency above 19th-century prejudice. In any fostering case the interests of the 60,000 children in care should override the bias of any prospective parent.Thankfully, Mr and Mrs Johns’s out-dated views aren't just out of step with the majority of people in modern Britain but those of many Christians too. If you wish to be involved in the delivery of a public service, you should be prepared to provide it fairly to anyone."
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2 comments:
Will the American Christoban pay this the heed it deserves? Secular law and equality out weighs religious law.
In regard to the couple's comment, "All we were not willing to do was to tell a small child that the practice of homosexuality was a good thing", I must say that the most telling 'giveaway' is the "practice of". They obviously believe homosexuality is a choice, and as such they can never be 100% supportive of any child who might turn out to be gay. The courts are right.
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