The Lib Dem leader was asked 4 times in 2 interviews if gay sex is a sin and 4 times he refused to answer

http://ift.tt/2ohUEoP

The Lib Dem leader was asked 4 times in 2 interviews if gay sex is a sin — and 4 times he refused to answer

http://ift.tt/2pSdmRh

DanKitwood/Getty Images

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron is coming under increased pressure again to clarify his views on homosexuality, in the run-up to the general election on June 8.

Farron, a Christian, was asked four times in two separate interviews on Sunday whether he believes gay sex is a sin. On all four occasions, he refused to give a clear answer.

The matter was first raised by The Observer. "When asked, as he has been before, whether he thinks gay sex is a sin, he offers only half an answer," the newspaper said, quoting Farron as saying: "I do not believe being gay is a sin."

The Observer journalist Toby Helm asked again, to which Farron replied: "We are a secular society in which people should keep their religion and their political pronouncements really quite separate."

TV presenter Robert Peston then took up the line of questioning on ITV politics show "Peston on Sunday." Quoting the Observer article, Peston said: "They say you didn't answer when they asked you whether gay sex was a sin."

"Oh come on Robert," Farron told the presenter. "I've been asked this question loads of times over the past few days and I have been clear, even in the House of Commons, being gay is not a sin."

Peston asked again. Farron replied: "It's possible I'm not the only person who's getting tired of this line of questioning."

Here is the exchange in full:

Later on "Peston on Sunday," Labour MP Liz Kendall said Farron's refusal to answer the question was "pretty offensive" and will anger a lot of people.

Tory MP Michael Gove, also a churchgoer, agreed. "I don’t have any problem with saying gay sex is absolutely not a sin," he said.

Farron has been repeatedly grilled over his views on homosexuality since he became the Lib Dem leader in July 2015, because in 2013 he was one of nine Liberal Democrat MPs who abstained at the third reading of the bill introducing same-sex marriage.

Two years ago, he was asked by Channel 4's Cathy Newman on whether he thought homosexual sex was a sin instead of a clear 'yes' or 'no' answer, he said it was not "our views on personal morality that matter," and that to "understand Christianity is to understand that we are all sinners."

NOW WATCH: Yale history professor: Here’s why it's useful to compare Trump's actions to Hitler's

See Also:

• Jeremy Corbyn rules out forming an electoral pact with the Greens and Lib Dems
• The Liberal Democrats are quietly gaining a heap of support as everyone focuses on the Tories
• Snap general election confirmed for June 8th after MPs overwhelmingly back new vote

Business

via Business Insider http://ift.tt/eKERsB

April 22, 2017 at 10:57PM