I was forwarded this letter today, about Ian Paisley Jr's comments on homosexuality in Hot Press, suggesting that people write in to The Irish Times to respond. I would point out that in October 2006, 84% of people in the Republic support legal recognition for same-sex relationships. And that the majority support gay marriage in Ireland. That's what I call a moral majority.

PAISLEY REMARKS ON GAYS

Madam, - Few people if any appear to be defending Ian Paisley jnr against accusations of homophobia arising from his recent interview with Hot Press; yet the majority of the population, north and south of the Border, are opposed to homosexual/lesbian practices. Unfortunately, this majority view is not reflected in the law, nor have there been any referendums on the subject.
Ian Paisley jnr was merely defending the traditional Christian teaching, which stipulates that a homosexual or lesbian orientation is not blameworthy in itself, but that unnatural same-gender sexual acts are gravely disordered and immoral. Most major religions support this position, which is based on the natural law.

It is one thing to show compassion and sympathy for people afflicted by these aberrant tendencies, quite another to give the respectability and approval of law to the sexual expression of these tendencies. The fact that the gay movement, which is anything but gay, is demanding marital status and the right to adopt children, shows the folly of this type of compromise.

Our Constitution defines the family as the natural, primary and fundamental unit group of society, which is the basis of social order, and indispensable to the welfare of the State. The pressures of the gay fraternity for equal civil rights are anti-family, unconstitutional and highly detrimental to the State. - Yours, etc,

PATRICK MOLLOY, Brackenstown, Swords, Co Dublin.