Tuesday, 09 Jan 2007 08:53
NSS: Religious campaigners scaremongering
Tuesday, 09, Jan 2007 12:00
The National Secular Society (NSS) has accused a Christian group leading the campaign against the sexual orientation regulations of "scaremongering".
Christian Concern for our Nation (CCN) will today deliver a petition against the regulations to the Queen, before a protest by a coalition of faith groups outside parliament.
The regulations prevent businesses from refusing to provide services on the grounds of sexual orientation.
Keith Porteous Wood of the NSS said: "Scaremongering, gross exaggeration, and even factual inaccuracies are being employed by Christian groups to try to panic politicians into rejecting these regulations."
The NSS called the petition a "publicity stunt seeking to sideline the democratic process".
President Terry Sanderson said the protest was "a frightening demonstration of ignorance and bigotry".
He said: "If this display of mob intolerance works, and the regulations are defeated, we can expect to see Britain’s new religious right launch attacks on other areas of life they don’t approve of."