13 April 2012

Boris Johnson Pulls London Anti-Gay Bus Ads

Anti-gay adverts due to appear on London buses have been pulled by mayor Boris Johnson,

Details of the adverts commissioned by Core Issues Trust (CSI) came to public attention yesterday, within two hours Johnson had ordered transport chiefs to not run the ads.

CSI is a charity that funds ‘reparative therapy’ for gay Christians, the aim of which is to “develop their heterosexual potential”.

CSI’s leader, Mike Davidson, believes "homoerotic behaviour is sinful".

The campaign, due to read "Not gay! Post-gay, ex-gay and proud. Get over it!”, was also backed by Anglican Mainstream, a worldwide orthodox Anglican group whose supporters have equated homosexuality with alcoholism.

Johnson contacted the Guardian newspaper to announce he was stopping the adverts within two hours of their contents becoming public, said: "London is one of the most tolerant cities in the world and intolerant of intolerance. It is clearly offensive to suggest that being gay is an illness that someone recovers from and I am not prepared to have that suggestion driven around London on our buses."

The bus ad’s, which the Christian group insisted had been cleared with Transport for London (TfL), were a direct response to ad’s currently being run by gay rights group, Stonewall.

Stonewalls ads read: "Some people are gay. Get over it." The Christian groups used the same black, red and white colour scheme as Stonewall and in a statement announcing the campaign accused it of promoting the "false idea that there is indisputable scientific evidence that people are born gay".

Mike Davidson, CSI leader, said: "I didn't realise censorship was in place. We went through the correct channels and we were encouraged by the bus company to go through their procedures. They okayed it and now it has been pulled."

Ben Summerskill, the chief executive of Stonewall, said the adverts were "clearly homophobic" and added: "The only reason some gay people might want to stop being gay is because of the prejudice of the people who are publishing the ad.

Adding: "The promotion of this voodoo therapy is hugely irresponsible given the damage that it appears to do to some people."

Summerskill however said the advert should not be banned as he believed in freedom of speech.

(H)