Kemi Badenoch defends Kate Forbes’ anti-gay marriage views
“I actually admire her for not being dishonest,” Badenoch stated.
The UK Government’s Equalities Minister, Kemi Badenoch, has defended the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) Kate Forbes after she faced controversy for anti-gay marriage views.
Forbes, a candidate for Scottish National Party leadership, recently declared she would’ve voted against equal marriage laws.
On Tuesday (21 February), Badenoch shared she would defend the right of Forbes to hold those views and refused to condemn her in an interview with Politico.
Badenoch stressed that she is a supporter of same-sex marriage.
“I actually admire her for not being dishonest,” Badenoch said of Forbes.
“It’d be very easy for her to tell lies, just so that she could win that election,” Badenoch added. “She’s not doing that, and I think that that’s something that people need to take into account.”
She was then asked if she would condemn Forbes’ stance and she refused to.
“I would not want people to condemn me for having personal views,” she explained.
“Disagree with the views, debate the views, but if you are asking me to condemn someone for their religious views, then you do not understand what the minister of equalities’ role is.”
On the criticism against Forbes, Badenoch said she finds the situation “sad” as she believes in a “freedom of conscience.”
“I will not roll back on any rights that already exist in Scotland”
Further to her opposition to marriage equality, Forbes said she has “significant concerns” about gender self-identification.
She also clarified: “I will not roll back on any rights that already exist in Scotland.”
Badenoch’s track record in government has not been overwhelmingly positive for the LGBTQ community.
In November 2022, Badenoch paused banning the widely debunked practice of ‘conversion therapy’. The government announced in January a new ban was on its way.
Badenoch previously faced a backlash after recordings in 2018 revealed some troublesome comments. This included calling trans women “men” and mocking LGBT rights.
The Equalities Office said the comments were taken “out of context”.