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Theresa Davies |
Second registrar ‘no’ to gay marriages
Christian issues an appeal to Lords after being moved from conducting same-sex ceremonies
THE second registrar to clash with Islington Council over her refusal to conduct civil partnerships has appealed to every member of the House of Lords to back her cause.
Pentecostal Christian Theresa Davies, 58, has been demoted to a desk job after saying that overseeing same-sex ceremonies was contrary to her religious beliefs.
Her case mirrors that of Finsbury registrar Lillian Ladele. Ms Ladele, a devout Christian who believes gay couples are “sinners”, took Islington Council to a tribunal in 2008 after they demoted her and won. Her case was later overturned after the council appealed and now she is taking the Town Hall to the High Court for a third hearing.
Ms Davies has now written to every member of the Lords asking them to vote against Clause 61 of the Coroners and Justice Bill, which would remove a previous law allowing people to criticise homosexuality.
So far, not one Lord has replied.
In her letter, she writes: “This clause, if enacted, will have devastating effects on freedom of expression for citizens like me... The introduction of civil partnerships has caused many Christians (and adherents of other faiths) considerable disquiet; whilst they can exercise legal rights, it is entirely wrong that someone should be made to act in a manner contrary to their conscience. I do not want to participate in civil partnership ceremonies as I believe I would be violating clearly mandated biblical principles.”
She added: “In a civil society, it should be axiomatic that all rights should be respected. There is no reason why the interests of all parties could not be accommodated.”
Ms Davies, 58, who has worked for Islington for the past 18 years, is lodging a formal complaint against her demotion against Islington Council. Barrister Andrea Williams, director of the Christian Legal Centre, said Ms Davies had been told she should not speak to the Press. But a Town Hall spokesman said this was untrue.
Ms Williams said: “She wants to be restored to her former position.”
She added: “There’s an attempt in the Coroners and Justice Bill to remove a free speech provision regarding being able to critique same-sex lifestyles. In a free and democratic society people need to be able to feel free to say things that other people may be inclined to say they don’t like.”
Leading civil liberties lawyer Paul Diamond has been instructed to take on Ms Davies’ case.
Ms Williams said: “This new law will potentially outlaw certain parts of the Bible. It’s a question of fundamental freedom. Theresa believes something that’s been believed from the beginning of time. She’s a lovely, quiet Pentecostal Christian. She’s not got a bone of prejudice against anyone. The best thing to do would be to accommodate her conscience. We’re pushing so she can be reinstated. The homosexual right can’t trump the religious right. There needs to be a balance. Now the court has ruled in favour of Islington Council (in the case of Lilian Ladele) they no longer have to accommodate Lillian and Theresa.”
Mike Judge, spokesman for the Christian Institute that has bankrolled Ms Ladele’s legal actions, said she had been off work for “medical reasons” since the last hearing in January but had recently returned on full pay.
He added: “Other councils are being more flexible. I think it is regrettable that Islington is pursuing this line with Ms Davies.”
An Islington Council spokesman said: “Ms Davies indicated that she is not willing to conduct civil partnerships because of her religious beliefs. As a consequence, and following detailed discussion with Ms Davies, over a year ago she accepted another job in the same team on the same salary but which does not require her to conduct civil partnerships or marriages.
“Ms Davies made no formal response to a recent consultation on a restructure in the registrars’ department, and we therefore had no reason to think she was unhappy with her role. Islington Council expects all of its employees to provide services to all sections of the community. A recent court ruling backed the council’s stance that registrars must carry out civil partnerships as well as marriages.” |
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