Peter Tatchell urges gays to vote for the Green Party: ‘Green is the new pink’
Rights activist Peter Tatchell has urged LGBT people to vote Green at the election next month.
The veteran rights campaigner – who famously stood as a Labour candidate in 1981 in Bermondsey – defected to the Green Party in 2004.
Mr Tatchell head of the Peter Tatchell Foundation wrote: “Green is the new pink.
“For three decades, the Green Party has led the way on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and questioning (LGBTIQ) rights.
“It was the first political party to support same-sex marriage, LGBT sex education in schools and an end to the lifetime ban on gay blood donors. These policies have been spearheaded in parliament by Green MP, Caroline Lucas.
“There are, of course, good people in all political parties and most other parties have some good policies. I salute them. However, the Green Party stands above them all, in my view.”
“The Greens say homophobia is a social evil on a par with racism and sexism, and it must be challenged with equal determination. They believe LGBTIQ people enrich society and that sexual and gender diversity is a positive social good.
“These are a few of the reasons I am voting Green on 7 May. A big pink vote for the Greens will shake up the grey parties and encourage them to adopt more gay-friendly policies.”
Mr Tatchell was criticized earlier this year for signing an open letter condemning the “silencing of individuals” who make controversial comments about trans people, alongside a number of anti-trans activists.
He later said he was unaware of the letter’s transphobic co-signatories, telling PinkNews: “I was not aware of the other signatories when I signed. Yet I am being condemned via the McCarthyite tactic of guilt by association.”
“The letter did not attack trans people or trans rights. It defended free speech and opposed witch-hunts. I strongly disagree with feminists who denigrate trans people and have said so publicly many times.”
He also hit out at the Labour party for “failing to go far enough” on plans for statutory sex and relationship education, saying it “side steps” the issue of parents being able to withdraw their children.