A local politician in Wales got into hot water after penning a few sharp words for same-sex parents.
Independent Welsh councillor Mike Harris will not be punished for his Facebook rant against lesbian parents. Even though his comments were found to be extremely offensive by the Monitoring Officer for the Torfaen County Borough Council, it was determined that Harris did not breach the code of conduct.Â
The investigation started after complaints were made in regards to Harris claiming lesbians should not be parents. “Totally and ethically wrong in my opinion!†he wrote in response to an article in the Daily Mail about a sperm bank for lesbians. “They should buy a Barbie doll if they want to play at being a mum.â€
The headline in the Daily Mail article Harris refers to says, “NHS to fund sperm bank for lesbians: New generation of fatherless families… paid for by YOU.†It’s of course misleading since the same article claims the sperm bank will also serve single women and heterosexual couples with fertility problems.
The investigation report lists the following findings in response to Harris’ Facebook comments:
He could not locate where this had been posted but if it were on a public site:
He feels this comment expresses his Christian belief (though he does not attend Church)
He is not homophobic but feels this is ethically and morally wrong
It is his freedom of speech to express his views
That the normal upbringing for a child is to have a male father and female mother though he is not against sperm banks
He feels ’Mother’ means giving birth and that the other female is a ‘Guardian’ and that was not being a Mum in his view
He also mentioned that when science intervenes, mistakes can happen e.g. where sperm banks get things mixed up.
Harris was elected to represent the Pontypool Ward in the UK in 2012. In response to being cleared, the local UK official simply said, “This is a victory for freedom of speech and freedom of expression.”Â
Â
Image by Compulsive Collector via Flickr and a CC licenseÂ