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Northern Ireland Parades Commission gives Green Light for “Gay Pride” Event

BELFAST, August (LifeSiteNews.com) – After a concerted effort by Christian and pro-family groups to put a stop to Belfast’s annual “Gay Pride” event, on Thursday the Northern Ireland Parades Commission gave the homosexual group the go-ahead to hold the event.

The Northern Ireland Police Service requested that the Parades Commission – originally set up to decide on whether parades held by warring Catholics and Protestants be allowed to proceed –  rule on the matter, after receiving complaints about the lewd nature of the parade from concerned Christian groups.

A Christian coalition, Stop the Parade Coalition, originally complained that the event would be offensive to them, setting up a web site in July of 2004 to voice their opposition. “We are a non-denominational group of born-again Christians who believe the Bible is the Word of God,” the group’s web site explains. “As followers of Jesus Christ we believe must strive to warn people that their actions have eternal consequences, and that God will judge sin.”

“Our objectives are twofold in that we wish to see the end of the contentious Belfast Pride parade – a lewd and offensive festival that promotes a sinful and immoral lifestyle,” the Coalition’s site continued, “and we want to reach out to sodomites taking part in the parade to show them that there is an alternative and that they can be delivered from the bondage of sodomy by repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ alone.”

Reverend David McIlveen, who led a Free Presbyterian Church delegation to the Commission, told the BBC that he found the annual parade “more offensive each year.” McIlveen suggested that the time of the parade be changed. He suggested, “They could also insist that the code of dress should be adhered to in a manner that is decent and inoffensive.”

The 15th annual parade is set to proceed Saturday August 6th.

Visit the Stop the Parade Coalition web site at:
http://www.stoptheparade.com/

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