Comments in Gay and Lesbian Humanist

KENILWORTH, 16 OCTOBER 2005 — The GALHA committee has issued the following statement regarding comments in the Autumn 2005 issue of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist magazine.

“We are disturbed by certain comments published in the editorial and opinion sections of the current issue of Gay and Lesbian Humanist.

“As humanists, we believe in defending secularism and confronting religious ideology where it impinges on the rights of individuals. But equally we oppose the encouragement of hatred or discrimination against individuals or groups of individuals on the basis of their religious affiliation. Humanists criticise ideas, not people.

“The views expressed in the magazine in connection with immigration are the personal opinions of the authors. In our view they are inconsistent with GALHA’s ethos. We therefore wish to make it clear that GALHA does not endorse those opinions and we unreservedly dissociate ourselves from them.

“We are taking urgent steps to avoid this situation recurring.”