London Mayor Boris Johnson: Marriage equality? Why not?

Posted by Dave Hill at guardian.co.uk.:

"Mayor of London Boris Johnson has told PinkNews.co.uk that he supports the freedom to marry and wants to be mayor again for Worldpride, which London will be hosting in 2012. Kicking off the [pride] parade with members of the Gay Liberation Front, Mr Johnson said: "If the Conservatives and Liberals can get together in a national coalition and settle their differences, I don't see why you can't have marriage equality.'

"Boris's sometimes perplexing stance on lesbian and gay rights has a long and educational history. Political opponents have exploited attacks he made in and around 2000 on what he characterised as state-sponsored 'instruction' of school children in homosexuality, yet in 2003 he was among 20-odd Conservative MPs who declined to support an amendment by fellow Conservatives aimed at blocking Labour's repeal of Section 28 [which banned promotion of LGBT issues by local governments - including schools].

"...his [Johnson's] position typifies the paradox of right-wing libertariansim in that, on the one hand he approves of individual freedom but on the other he recoils from the idea of governments acting to help increase it."

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