Tim Farron labelled ‘offensive’ over failure to say gay sex is not a sin
ITV News:
Tim Farron’s refusal to say that gay sex is not a sin is “pretty offensive” and will upset many people, MPs have said.
The Liberal Democrat leader was challenged over his stance after The Observer said he failed to fully answer questions about gay sex when asked, and he was accused of being homophobic.
Mr Farron was asked to clarify his beliefs when on ITV’s Peston on Sunday, saying “being gay is not a sin”, before adding that he was “getting tired” of the line of questioning.
Labour MP Liz Kendall and Tory former cabinet minister Michael Gove criticised his dodging of the question.
Mr Farron told Robert Peston: “I’ve been asked this question loads of times over the past few days – even in the House of Commons – being gay is not a sin.”
Asked whether sex between consenting adults is a sin, he said: “Robert, if I’m honest with you, it’s possible I’m not the only person who is getting tired of this line of questioning.”
Mr Peston suggested Mr Farron could “just close it down by being unambiguous”.
Mr Farron replied: “In America it appears you have to invent a faith in order to be seen to be a serious candidate for anything. In this country it maybe appears you have to pretend you haven’t got one to be taken seriously.
“Can I just point out, possibly even slightly impatiently, that both of those standpoints are utterly ludicrous. Shall we talk about things that might impact on the election?”
Charles Moore in The Telegraph comments thus:
The politically correct Spanish Inquisition has trained its sights on Tim Farron.
I have remarked elsewhere that, at some point in a public career nowadays, one must expect to be made to apologise to Liverpool. It is not clear why this should be so, but it is. A newer hoop to jump through is that one will be asked if homosexuality is a sin.
Last week, I watched the Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron, being interrogated by Channel 4 News on the point, as if the programme were the politically correct version of the Spanish Inquisition. Mr Farron deflected the question by saying: “We are all sinners.” That was not the right answer, and so the furies pursued him. A few days later, he stammered out agreement that homosexuality is not a sin.
Will this satisfy Channel 4, or will it want Mr Farron to come out against the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist or the rule that one should eat fish on Fridays?
Read also: It is not Tim Farron’s private beliefs that bother me by Laura Perrins, TCW