|TOP|The Evangelical Alliance, an umbrella group representing over one million evangelical Christians in the UK, has offered a cautious welcome to an announcement made on Monday by the Women and Equality Unit of a DTI consultation. The announcement encouraged all people to respond to the consultation before it closes on June 5th.

The consultation in question, entitled ‘Getting Equal: Proposals to Outlaw Sexual Orientation Discrimination in the Provision of Goods and Services’, is designed to introduce regulations in October with the hope to prevent discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation in areas other than employment.

Directed at both the public and private sectors, the consultation has been promoted greatly by the Women and Equality Unit with the hope to gain widespread backing.

|AD|Joel Edwards, General Director of the Evangelical Alliance said, “This is an important consultation document and we trust the Government will listen carefully to responses from those who could be adversely affected by the proposals when it actually legislates.

“At the same time we believe that whatever peoples’ sexual orientation there is no case for subjecting them to abuse, hostility, vilification and intimidation, and the vast majority of evangelical Christians insist on values of mutual respect and the essential human dignity and inherent worth of everyone.”

Don Horrocks, the Head of Public Affairs at the Evangelical Alliance also stated, “We hope that as many people as possible take part in responding to this consultation.”

He continued, “There is no doubt that the extension of rights for one group often has the potential to impact the rights of others. We commend the Government for acknowledging the position of religious and charitable organisations as well as individuals where their freedom to practise and advance their historic faith may be adversely impacted by these regulations. In a document that proposes exceptions to the legislation for several different groups, relevant exceptions for religious groups are entirely appropriate to enable them to continue to function in accordance with their ethos.”

In conclusion, Horrocks added, “We welcome the constructive spirit in which the Government has formulated its proposals. However, serious concerns remain and clarification is necessary on a number of points. We trust that the consultation exercise will result in the fair balancing of different rights in accordance with human rights law.”