Rainbow Nation Scotland
Rainbow Nation Scotland Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, April 6th 2016 Scotland is a land of tolerance and acceptance in at least one respect. Four out of six leaders of our main political parties are lesbian, gay or bisexual. Plus the Secretary of State for Scotland. This is a far cry from the Scotland of old. Only sixteen years ago there was the near cultural war over Section 28/Clause 2a, centred on the supposed ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in schools, passed by the Thatcher Government in 1988. This episode saw Brian Souter and Jack Irvine lead a campaign against abolition which was
A Great Moment for Scotland and Equality: Now Let’s Get Serious About It
A Great Moment for Scotland and Equality: Now Let’s Get Serious About It Gerry Hassan Sunday Mail, January 4th 2015 As the clocks this week marked Hogmanay, Scotland’s first ever same sex marriage ceremonies took place. Each of the couples had their own unique and personal histories and backstories. Many had lived through times less enlightened and more repressive where people often had to hide their love, feelings and identities from family, friends and work colleagues. On that momentous night, at the Bell and Felix bistro in Glasgow’s Southside I had the honour of being amongst those who saw Gerrie
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Saying It Loud – Principled, Equal and Proud
Saying It Loud – Principled, Equal and Proud Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, July 6th 2013 The Scotland of today is a land vastly changed and different from that of even a few decades ago. Curiously, Scots whether in politics, public life or private conversation, often don’t recognise this. People understand that the Empire has gone, the rise and fall of the welfare state, and that the ‘Sunday Post’ isn’t the force in the land it once was. But there is so much more that we don’t seem to understand including the scale of transformation and its consequences. The Kirk,
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Time to have an equality for all citizens
Time to have an equality for all citizens Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, December 15th 2012 The issue of same sex marriage has become a major political controversy both sides of the border. Both the Scottish and UK Governments are planning to legislate and at the same time try to balance freedom and equality of sexual orientation with freedom of religious expression. There are huge differences between Scotland and England and Wales. The Cameron Government once viewed same sex marriage as an easy way of proving its liberal modernising credentials, but now finds itself enmeshed in bitter Tory wars. They
