![Tonyblair_0](https://www.advocate.com/media-library/tonyblair-0.jpg?id=32706118&width=1200&height=876)
CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Former U.K. prime minister Tony Blair and former cabinet member Jack Straw are taking on religion-based opposition to marriage equality in their country.
Blair, a convert to Catholicism, "has defied the Pope by making clear he 'strongly supports' plans for gay marriage," London's Independent reported Sunday. Pope Benedict XVI last week spoke out strongly against marriage equality, and several other Catholic and Church of England leaders have denounced current prime minister David Cameron's plan to replace civil partnerships, available to U.K. gay couples since 2005, with marriage. Blair, as prime minister, introduced and supported the law that established civil partnerships.
Straw, in a Lancashire Telegraphcolumn published Thursday, questioned how the Catholic and Anglican hierarchy can oppose marriage equality when such opposition conflicts with Christianity's Golden Rule. "How on earth do these church leaders square their present stand with those biblical injunctions about treating others as you would expect to be treated yourself?" he wrote. He also commented, "I happen to be, in the modern jargon, 'straight'. It doesn't make me a better person."
Meanwhile, a conservative blogger calling himself "Archbishop Cranmer" attracted attention with a satirical post saying Straw was attacking Muslims for opposing marriage equality.
trudestress
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
21+ steamy photos of Scotland’s finest gay men in Elska Glasgow
February 01 2024 10:07 PM
More Than 50 of Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Moms
May 12 2024 11:44 AM
Latest Stories
How the 2024 Paris Olympics could become a force to reverse climate change
July 25 2024 6:40 PM
Joe Biden and the lesson of never forgetting where you came from
July 25 2024 4:06 PM
Tom Daley goes down on all fours to test new Olympic beds
July 25 2024 2:58 PM
Kamala Harris make a cameo in RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 9 finale
July 25 2024 1:59 PM
Trending stories
Most Recent
Recommended Stories for You
Trudy Ring
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.