Hate the sin but love the person...except when voting?

Hi Ringo, I'm sorry, but it's not that simple. William Wilberforce, perhaps the most prominent anti-slavery campaigner in Britain, was a keen moral crusader, firmly committed to imposing his own uptight, Victorian Protestant version of Christian principles on society at large.

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Greatly concerned by what he perceived to be the degeneracy of British society, Wilberforce was also active in matters of moral reform, lobbying against "the torrent of profaneness that every day makes more rapid advances", and considered this issue and the abolition of the slave trade as equally important goals. At the suggestion of Wilberforce and Bishop Porteus, King George III was requested by the Archbishop of Canterbury to issue in 1787 the Proclamation for the Discouragement of Vice, as a remedy for the rising tide of immorality. The proclamation commanded the prosecution of those guilty of "excessive drinking, blasphemy, profane swearing and cursing, lewdness, profanation of the Lord's Day, and other dissolute, immoral, or disorderly practices".
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Wilberforce sought to increase its impact by mobilising public figures to the cause, and by founding the Society for Suppression of Vice. This and other societies in which Wilberforce was a prime mover, such as the Proclamation Society, mustered support for the prosecution of those who had been charged with violating relevant laws, including brothel keepers, distributors of pornographic material, and those who did not respect the Sabbath.
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The societies were not highly successful in terms of membership and support, although their activities did lead to the imprisonment of Thomas Williams, the London printer of Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason.

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William Wilberforce - WikipediaSadly, Wilberforce would probably agree with Iano that gays should not be allowed to enjoy simple civic liberties. Don't get me wrong; in most respects Wilberforce was a great man. His influence made the world a better place in many ways. It's just that his various ideas about how a moral society should function - which he saw as entirely harmonious - were in reality a bit of a mixed bag. Nah, they haven't switched sides. They were always fucking hypocrites.Mutate and Survive

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On two occasions I have been asked, — "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" ... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. - Charles Babbage

I know what you're saying, but it seems clear to me that Wilberforce did both good and ill with his campaigning. On balance, most of his work was good. It could hardly fail to have had a positive influence given how extraordinarily callous British society was in his day.He may have done the right thing for the wrong reasons, but it's clear that he also did some very wrong things for the wrong reasons, like getting publishers locked up for exercising their right to free speech.I think that Iano is falling into the same trap as Wilberforce; he is being misled by his own use of religion as a guiding principle, instead of a consistent morality. Plus ca change...Mutate and Survive

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On two occasions I have been asked, — "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" ... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. - Charles Babbage

Hi ICdesign, Well you have now.

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Gay swans set up nest at world's only swannery in Dorset

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Two male swans have ruffled feathers at the world's only swannery in Dorset after they set up a love nest together. The happy couple at Abbotsbury Swannery are the only homosexual swans among more than 1,000 birds at the reserve.

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They are believed to be only the second male pair ever to hook up at the reserve. The pair show no interest in their female companions and only have eyes for each other.

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Dave Wheeler, from the swannery, said: "The two birds both hatched in 2002 and are sort of together. They have been together for several nesting seasons and basically keep territory as if they are a nesting pair."

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Environment - The TelegraphI wonder why you didn't see this, or any of the many other examples of animal homosexuality, before. Did you try looking? a) No it isn't, and;
b) So is the internet, but you use that.So I guess you're going to change your mind now you know that homosexuality is natural? Or perhaps you would prefer not to base your opinions upon the fallacy of Appeal to Nature?Mutate and SurvivePS: I know this is woefully off-topic, I know. I don't intend to pursue it. I've made my point. It's just that when I see someone saying things as blatantly wrong as this, it's hard to resist.

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On two occasions I have been asked, — "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" ... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. - Charles Babbage