"A Northern Ireland assembly member will not face prosecution over comments she made about homosexuals last year. Iris Robinson, chair of the Stormont health committee, called for homosexuals to seek psychiatric counselling. Mrs Robinson said if gay people got help they could be 'turned around'. The police said they were satisfied no offence had been committed. But a gay rights group said in future she should "respect the diversity" in society." [BBC]

UPDATED: This was supposed to be the Inauguration's make-up moment to gays and lesbians everywhere for the inclusion of the vile and reprehensible homophobe Rick Warren: Bishop Gene Robinson, an openly-gay Episcopalian minister kicking off the week with an invocation on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. And while he did lead a prayer (read it below), you'd never know it unless you were standing with the thousands at the Reflecting Pool in D.C.

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Homophobia's a family affair for Northern Ireland's power couple, Iris and Peter Robinson!

MP Iris Robinson drew our ire earlier this year when she described gay folk as sick sinners who should be cured of our queer ways.

Despite very public outrage, Robinson stuck by her remarks – and so is her husband, First Minister Peter Robinson. His wife doesn't deserve any blame, he says, because God agrees:

It wasn’t Iris Robinson who determined that homosexuality was an abomination, it was the Almighty.

This is the Scriptures and it is a strange world indeed where somebody on the one hand talks about equality, but won’t allow Christians to have the equality, the right to speak, the right to express their views.

You know what we call that? Bollocks.

That story about Iris and Peter Robinson made us think of George and Martha, the dysfunctional, reprehensible couple from Edward Albee's Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?

Thus, here's a scene of the fictional couple going at it. It's really just an excuse to remember Elizabeth Taylor's acting career…

Northern Ireland politico Iris Robinson gained notoriety this year for repeatedly coming out against the gays, a "sick" group she thinks would benefit from reparative therapy.

Well, in a twist of ironic fate, Robinson's husband, N.I.'s First Minister, Peter Robinson and his office will be giving gay groups about £80,000 in grants this year:

It has further been revealed that money from the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) helped fund this year's Gay Pride parade in Belfast.

The ongoing OFMDFM allocations are part of a £230,000 package put in place under direct rule by then Secretary of State Peter Hain.

This scheme has continued under devolution, alongside rows over anti-gay comments by prominent DUP politicians — including MLA Iris Robinson, the First Minister's wife.
…
The £230,000 package is administered by the Coalition on Sexual Orientation (CoSO), an umbrella organisation for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender groups across the province.

Politics, strange bedfellows and all that.

"Iris Robinson will not be rebuked by Prime Minister Gordon Brown over her comments on homosexuality, Downing Street has said. Mrs Robinson described homosexuality as an abomination in a radio interview. Downing Street said there was no constitutional role for the PM to reprimand individual MPs. It said members are 'accountable to their electorate for their own comments'." [BBC]

Northern Ireland MP Iris Robinson's anti-gay ways have caused some collateral damage. Belfast-based shrink and Robinson adviser Dr. Paul Miller has temporarily stepped down from his position at a local hospital in the wake of the politico's campaign against "mentally ill" homos. He also pulled himself off her staff:

[Robinson] caused a storm when she said homosexuality was an abomination and she had a psychiatrist working in her office who had "cured" gay people.

Other psychiatrists distanced themselves from these views, saying homosexuality was not an illness and did not require medical treatment.

Neither Dr Miller nor the DUP are commenting on reports that he has taken a career break from a north Belfast hospital and has stepped down as Mrs Robinson's adviser.

Perhaps now Robinson and company have learned their lesson: bigotry's no turn on.

Gerard McCarthy, a Belfast-born actor who plays a bisexual character on British soap Hollyoaks, declared this week that anti-gay Northern Ireland politico Iris Robinson should step down. She is, he says, helping "destroy lives." [Pink News]

Gay rabble-rouser Peter Tatchell's calling for Iris Robinson's head.

Robinson, a politician from Northern Ireland, gained international notoriety this month when she suggested gay people can be "cured," called us sinners and then later compared sodomy and child abuse, a charge she denied.

Speaking last night at an Amnesty International event, Tatchell insisted that Robinson must resign – he also pointed out that had she targeted another group, she would be out already:

Tatchell said she would have been forced from office if she made similar comments about other minorities.

"People would have said that such comments are totally unacceptable," he said. "The fact that many are making excuses for people, saying that her conscience or religion gives her an excuse for making these remarks, I find unconscionable."

Of course, not everyone's making excuses for Robinson. Some of her colleagues, in fact, are wondering if she's gone mental.

Northern Ireland's Iris Robinson's repeated anti-gay outbursts have her political colleagues wondering about her mental health:

Robinson's outbursts against homosexuals are developing into "an unhealthy obsession" for which she should seek psychiatric help, it has been claimed.
Sinn Fein's Martina Anderson said she was convinced the DUP MP was stressed and this was manifesting itself in a series of public remarks targeting homosexuality.
…
Ms Anderson said: "Iris seems to be constantly obsessed with the gay and lesbian community."

"I think she (Mrs Robinson] should seek a quiet moment to sit down and talk to somebody herself."

The Sinn Fein woman continued by suggesting the DUP MP "takes time out".

Robinson's remarks have included comparing sodomy to child abuse, calling gays sinners and recommending reparative therapy to "treat" the gay folk. Yep, she sounds certifiable to us!

Iris Robinson's at it again!

The Northern Ireland politician caused a scandal earlier this year after suggesting gay people would benefit from ex-gay "reparative therapy." She later "clarified" that remark by saying gay people are not ill. We're just sinners.

Not big on learning from mistakes, Robinson used a Parliamentary discussion last month to equate child abuse with sodomy, of which she strongly disapproves.

When confronted with her comments, however, the lawmaker insisted she's being misrepresented:

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Northern Ireland's Education Minister Caitríona Ruane may be our new favorite person. As her peer MP Iris Robinson pushes anti-gay reparative therapy, Ruane took a stand for supporting gay counseling – in schools! Rather than yakking about social or religious beliefs, as Robinson has, Ruane went straight for the civic jugular:

Government has a responsibility to ensure policy development considers the needs of all in our community, including policies for education.

As Education Minister I take my duty to respect and treat all sections of the community equally very seriously.

It is interesting to note that research shows 86% of young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are aware of their sexuality at school. We must offer these young people support and understanding not ignorance and intolerance.

Minister Ruane cited gay group Cara-Friend as having an impact on her platform, but we think her haircut deserves at least a bit of credit. Oh, did we mention she's a former tennis player? Too bad she's straight, huh?

But, seriously, the difference between Robinson and Ruane couldn't be more acute. The former called gay people "sinners," while the other actually – gasp! – considers the same-sex lovers equal. Forget the gay guinea "gerbils" pigs, this could be children's book. Let's call it something simple, like Good v. Evil.

Iris Robinson needs to learn to shut her mouth. The N. Ireland politician raised eyebrows last month when she came out against the gays. Robinson has since become the butt of many-a-joke – as well as a campaign to unseat her – and, quite frankly, she's pissed. No, not because people are mad at her, but because they're twisting her words, she claims:

Stormont Health committee chair Iris Robinson last night accused her political rivals of twisting her comments on homosexuality and denied she believed it was a mental disorder.
…
Mrs Robinson said: "People have attempted to suggest that I indicated that homosexuality was a mental health issue. Nothing could be further from the truth. What I did say was homosexuality, like all sin, is an abomination.

Because that's much better. Meanwhile, Robinson still thinks psychiatric counseling can help set us straight:

Will the minister agree with me that there are some people who are in their teenage years sexually confused and that they could do with help in terms of practitioners assessing them with talking therapies to help them realize exactly what they are, whether they are heterosexual or homosexual?"

Sheesh, can't these kids find out the old fashioned way: experiementation. It's worked for generations – and is way more fun.

Iris Robinson, the Northern Ireland politician who thinks gay folk should seek reparative therapy, recently used a BBC interview to equate gay sins with those of murderers. But Robinson makes sure to say she doesn't have anything against us, because she's filled with God's love.

It must be satisfying to be so smug.

[via Towleroad]

Gay activists are livid over N. Ireland MP Iris Robinson's recent comments on "turning" gays around. Said Robinson:

I have a very lovely psychiatrist who works with me in my offices and his Christian background is that he tries to help homosexuals – trying to turn away from what they are engaged in.

I'm happy to put any homosexual in touch with this gentleman and I have met people who have turned around and become heterosexuals.

The homos aren't having it, of course, and are calling bullshit on Robinson's reparative theories. Education minister Catríona Ruane, meanwhile, took a more measured approach by "reminding" Robinson of her duties: "I think it is really important that politicians play a leadership role and that leadership role should be not to say anything that could possibly inflame the situation or cause further distress."

• We saw a line of people waiting for the iPhone. They were all playing with their soon-to-be old phones. We think they're insane, as is the rest of the country.

• Talk about a tabloid wet dream: Francesca Hilton, daugher of Zsa Zsa Gabor and Paris Hilton's late grandfather, Conrad, called Zsa Zsa's current (ninth) husband, Prince Frederic von Anhalt, a faggot. von Anhalt's claim to fame, besides being married to Gabor, would be his claim that he fathered Anna Nicole Smith's baby. The icing – it went down outside a court house. And TMZ got it on video. Tune in for a special peek into Paris' future. (Cue splooge.)

• Mitt Romney's a cat person:

Romney placed his family dog, an Irish setter named Seamus, into a kennel leashed to the top of his station wagon for a 12-hour family trip from Boston to Ontario in 1983. Despite being shielded by a wind screen the former Massachusetts governor erected, Seamus expressed his discomfort with a diarrhea attack.

Romney claims the dog loved riding on the roof in a swirl of liquified shit: "He scrambled up there every time we went on trips." Scrambled? More like slid.

• London Pride ain't afraid of no car bombs. The parade marches on tomorrow. With a mock Eurovision to protest anti-gay nations.

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