AN MP who is leading the fight against gay marriage has been subject to death threats as a result of his stance on the issue.
David Burrowes, MP for Enfield Southgate, told the Advertiser that death threats and hate mail landed on his doorstep after he made a public stance on the issue of allowing same-sex couples to legally marry last month.
The MP, who is a vocal supporter of the Coalition For Marriage who have secured more than 200,000 signatures in an online petition against changing the rules around marriage, told the Advertiser that he had even had to alter his travel arrangements due to mounting concerns over his personal safety after protestors got hold of his commuting timetable.
“I think the context of the threats is that people are letting off steam and vitriol,” the father-of-six said. “But what I take more seriously is that there are people who are not just against my point of view – there are people who are against me speaking about this issue.
“It makes me realise this issue is about liberty. It’s important that people are able to freely express themselves,” he added.
The Conservative MP, who is chairman of the Conservative Christian Fellowship, was reluctant to point the finger of blame at any particular set of campaigners, and said: “Of course a number of these gay rights groups have themselves been the subject of death threats.”
But chief executive of the Enfield Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender network Tim Fellows warned that Mr Burrowes’ discussion of death threats and hate mail could be a “distraction” form the issue in hand.
“I would never condone the use of violence against anyone. Everyone is entitled to their views but I don’t want this to distract from the main issue here which is one of marriage equality,” the gay rights campaigner said.
“I have great sympathy for Mr Burrowes – that is something that should never happen in a civilised society.”
The public consultation into the issue of gay marriage was launched by Liberal Democrat MP Lynne Featherstone last week, and Mr Burrowes, along with a number of other MPs, is opposed to the government’s expected decision to change the legal definition of marriage to allow gay couples to officially marry, rather than be limited to a civil union or partnership.
Enfield Today