 Christian
protesters who picketed the Manchester Pride parade could be banned from
the streets during next year's event.
Council chiefs are 'outraged' that around 20 placard-waving
demonstrators – many from the conservative pressure group Christian
Voice – were allowed to disrupt the event.
They gathered outside the John Rylands Library on Deansgate as more
than 100 floats – celebrating Greater Manchester's gay, lesbian,
bisexual and trangender communities – went past.
Members of the protest were filmed shouting sinful and
wicked at people taking part in Saturday's parade.
The group was largely drowned out by the whistle-blowing crowd of
thousands – and Lord of the Rings actor Sir Ian McKellen gave them an
ironic wave as he led the procession. But town hall bosses believe the
protesters overstepped the mark.
They now plan to work with police to see whether anti-hate laws can
be used to ban similar scenes at Pride next summer.
Pat Karney, the council's city centre spokesman, said such protests
had no place in Manchester. He said: I will be meeting organisers and
police to make sure that next year people are not subject to these vile,
hate-filled rantings. This is 2010, not 1950, and young gay men and
women should not be subjected to this hatred. We have a proud history in
Manchester of freedom of speech but there is no place for this. I am a
Christian and I believe that these people are a terrible advert for
Christianity. There are things we can do using hate laws to make sure
they do not come back.
Stephen Green, national director of Christian Voice, said: It is a
very sad day for this country when the authorities want to clamp down on
the teachings of the Gospel. This is a major assault on freedom of
speech.
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4thought.tv
