Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black has just demolished Theresa May’s DUP deal in an interview. And his message is an incredibly powerful one.
“Disgusting”
During the interview with Channel 5 News, Black said of May’s deal with the DUP:
When someone… is so hungry for power that they will sell out an entire people that they supposedly represent, I think that’s disgusting. And I’m saying that about the Prime Minister right now.
He then explained this comment, insisting:
Making that deal with the DUP – [which] does not respect gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgender people equally – that is disgusting. It’s disgusting because it’s hurtful and it’s harmful. It crushes self-esteem, it crushes lives. And some lives are literally at stake. In the name of power, a prime minister has made a deal to hold onto it. It’s very, very sad.
.@dlanceblack calls Theresa May's deal with the DUP "disgusting" saying it does not respect LGBT people equally @channel5_tv pic.twitter.com/8r703zOwmE
— Channel 5 News (@5_News) July 7, 2017
The importance of unity
Black hit the news recently after marrying Olympic medal winner Tom Daley. But he also won a script-writing Oscar in 2008 for Milk, a biopic about gay rights activist Harvey Milk. And he is well known for his passionate approach to promoting LGBTQ+ rights.
Speaking in Trafalgar Square over the weekend, he roused the crowd by saying:
We are stronger together with our brothers and our sisters. This cannot be your only moment of visibility, not this year. Not in these times when they’re talking about building walls. You must show up for our brothers and sisters in other social justice movements.
Other groups have also called for unity against all forms of discrimination – whether based on sexual orientation, class, gender, ethnicity, disability, or faith.
What the DUP deal means for LGBTQ+ rights
The DUP has vetoed same-sex marriage. Despite the Northern Irish assembly voting for it, the DUP is blocking its introduction. That means Northern Ireland is the only area of the UK where equal marriage hasn’t been introduced.
One DUP politician, meanwhile, has previously branded homosexuality an “abomination”. And back in the 1970s, the DUP tried unsuccessfully to prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Northern Ireland by running a campaign called “Save Ulster from Sodomy”.
Despite Theresa May’s apparent reassurances to Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson that the Tory-DUP deal will not effect LGBTQ+ rights in the UK, it has caused shock waves in the community.
And while May has shot herself in the foot before over her DUP deal, the latest take-down from Dustin Lance Black – a high-profile LGBTQ+ activist – is yet another sign that May’s Tories could be pushing a whole community away.
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Featured image via Wikipedia
