We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
THE LEADER OF the Liberal Democrats in the UK has declined to directly answer if he believes being gay is a sin.
Cathy Newman asked Tim Farron about the issue during an interview on Channel 4 News.
Echoing previous comments he made, Farron said: ”I’m not in a position to go making theological pronouncements and, I can promise you one thing, over the next six weeks, I’m not going to spend my time talking theology or making pronouncements.”
Cathy Newman / TwitterFor fourth time @timfarron struggled to give me a clear answer on if it's true he believes homosexuality is sinful #C4News #GeneralElection
— Cathy Newman (@cathynewman) April 18, 2017
He added: “As a liberal I’m passionate about equality, about equal marriage, about equal rights for LGBT people, for fighting not just for LGBT rights in this country but overseas.
“Just because I’m a Christian, I think it’d be a bit boring for everybody to spend the next six weeks asking me to make theological pronouncements and I’m not planning to do so.”
His comments were criticised by some people as unacceptable and outdated.
Sue Perkins / TwitterTim Farron on C4 news failing to clarify his views on the gay community. 'We're all sinners'.
— Sue Perkins 💙 (@sueperkins) April 18, 2017
It's 2017.
Lewis Parker / TwitterI'd prefer to vote for someone who dosen't think being homosexual is a sin thanks Tim Farron, Mr illiberal democrat. https://t.co/MJpdEAuML5
— Lewis Parker (@LewisParkerUK) April 18, 2017
Others, including Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Featherstone, a prominent same-sex marriage supporter, defended Farron’s record on LGBT issues.
Lynne Featherstone / TwitterTurn your attack on those religions that make their followers choose between their sexuality and their faith. Tim is solid on lgbt rights https://t.co/UxuXW7LpHK
— Lynne Featherstone (@lfeatherstone) April 18, 2017
Farron previously abstained from votes on same-sex marriage, later saying he regretted this.
In a 2015 interview with Channel 4 News, Freeman also asked Farron if he believed that being gay was a sin. He gave a similar answer at the time, saying: “We are all sinners.”
Farron then denied that a Christian couldn’t be a liberal, saying of the Lib Dems:
This is the party that is based upon religious tolerance and indeed the tolerance of people who are not religious at all and defending the rights of every individual, whether they be a member of a minority or not.
Last week, Farron criticised the persecution of gay people in Chechnya, telling PinkNews: “These reports from Chechnya are truly horrifying, and represent an extreme manifestation of increasing homophobic brutality and intolerance in Putin’s Russia.
“The UK government must strongly condemn this disgusting violence, and use every possibly opportunity to raise this with the Russian government, as well as in the UN and other international bodies.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Boo! – Apple have done away with the Irish cailín (pale skin, red hair) who used to represent many Irish women – now we’ll have to choose between a blonde or a brunette. Bring back the redhead!
Tiocfaidh ar la.
Does that mean that only those people who have installed this will see the new emoji ?
Yes is the answer. This is an Irish flag test:
The flags work as special control letters representing the abbreviation for countries. On Android phones they usually show up as just the control letters, so, as always, an Irish flag can be displayed but only as a blue “IE”, not an actual flag. The system (at least before lollipop, not sure if its changed) never supported the actual flags but would just show the control letters instead.
WhatsApp does that too, but only if it encounters a combination it doesn’t have a flag for.
Any for android?
It just requires characters U+1F1EE and U+1F1EA to be entered in sequence ( a special “I” and a special “E”) but the system won’t display them as a flag. Apple hasn’t really added a new character. Just the ability to correctly recognise the combination.
Android, as of 4.4 anyway, doesn’t display any of these combinations as flags (not even U and S). Just as the control letters that make them up. Applications on android that don’t use the system emojis (WhatsApp and Facebook messenger for instance) may add support sooner, since they both support flags
I like that they’re in the kind of pop up menu thing so you don’t spend ages scrolling. Nice one.
I always thought the Irish flag would be a lot nicer without the orange
Go back to Limerick
The davedunne comment above is not me. It is a dam imposter. I am flattered all the same. I in all honesty don’t give a bollix about flag’s.
Fine gael don’t approve ..
Anyone else not have the option of downloading the new update?
Note to self:
Block Brian Tong
Excited to see the Irish Tricolor being represented.
I would be more excited when my Android Galaxy S6 starts representing my flag!
What kind of phone do you have?
Ireland/…Ivory Coast flag
All I can say is
Noooooo. Fail, all the emojis didn’t show up
What a lot of
Erik just point g out he has the new S6
˙˙˙sᴉɥʇ pɐǝɹ uɐɔ noʎ ɟᴉ sᴉ ʇI
Why don’t android phones have flag emojis?
Flag on WhatsApp is Ivory Coast not Irish
have your say