Iris Robinson, the MP, MLA and wife of the joint First Minister of Northern Ireland is reported as having delivered herself of the following opinion in the House of Commons during a debate on the assessment and management of sex offenders:
“There can be no viler act, apart from homosexuality and sodomy, than sexually abusing innocent children,” Hansard quotes her as saying.
She now claims that she has been misunderstood, and that she did not mean to suggest that homosexuality and sodomy were “viler” than abusing children. Well, that’s OK then.
Sinn Fein has weighed in for good measure:
Sinn Féin MLA Martina Anderson said that Ms Robinson had an “obsession” with homosexuality and that her comments were “deeply offensive and hurtful to members of the gay community and their families”.
She’s right. Iris Robinson’s conduct is deeply offensive. Admittedly, not as deeply offensive as deliberately setting out to murder wholly innocent civilians by placing bombs in public places: but still pretty damn offensive.
Iris Robinson does have a limited point though. Sodomy is vile. That is what makes it fun.
