NEWS: London Mayor’s Ban On ‘Post Gay’ Bus Advert Upheld By High Court

<encoded><p>Boris’s decision to ban a Christian group’s controversial advert about gay cure therapy was not unlawful, the High Court ruled today.</p> <p>by Newsdesk | 22nd March 2013</p> <p></p> <p> </p> <p><img src="http://www.thegayuk.com/communities/8/004/009/928/388/images/4589319136.jpg" width="380" height="319" alt="The proposed Advert would have been a parody of the Stonewall ad." title="The proposed Advert would have been a parody of the Stonewall ad."/></p> <p></p> <p>The Judge, Mrs. Justice Lang, ruled that Mr. Johnson had not abused his position as chairman of Transport for London when he imposed the ban, however she said: "was procedurally unfair, in breach of its own procedures and demonstrated a failure to consider the relevant issues".</p> <p></p> <p>However that was outweighed by concerns and factors had the ad been published, such as that it would "cause grave offence" to those who were gay, "thus increasing the risk of prejudice and homophobic attacks", said the judge.</p> <p></p> <p>The ruling was a defeat for Core Issues Trust, a Christian charity, that said Mr. Johnson was "politically driven" when he made the decision to block the ad, which suggests that gay people can be helped to "move out of homosexuality".</p> <p></p> <p>The ads which the group had wished to display on the sides of the capital’s iconic red buses would have read: "Not Gay! Ex-Gay, Post-Gay and Proud. Get over it!"</p> <p></p> <p>Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill said: ‘Many people will be pleased by today’s decision. Had these voodoo “gay cure” adverts appeared in the pages of the Spectator or the Daily Telegraph it’s unlikely there would have been complaints. But in a city where over half of gay young people face bullying at school, and where tens of thousands of gay people are subjected to hate crimes every year just because of the way they were born, it’s perfectly proper for a mayor to object to the use of such advertising in an iconic public setting.’</p> <p></p> <p>Related Articles:</p> <p></p> <p><a href="http://www.thegayuk.com/#/magazine/4574334751/BORIS-BACKS-HIV-TESTING-CAMPAIGN/4149730">Boris Johnson Backs HIV Testing Campaign</a></p> <p></p> <p><a href="http://www.thegayuk.com/#/magazine/4574334751/NEWS-Stonewall's-Silent-Auction-Opens/5198323">Stonewall's Silent Auction Opens</a></p> <p></p> <p><a href="http://www.thegayuk.com/null">REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR STONEWALL BRIGHTON EQUALITY WALK</a></p> </encoded>