David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The conscience clause is nonsense. It is like saying that in the United States of America one could have a conscientious objection to marriage between a black person and a white person. One might think that, but it should not be part of domestic law. The domestic law should be equality for everybody. I would have thought that was self-evident. I would say that with regard to the case in Northern Ireland, the people who went to the bakery and asked the owners to put "Hurray for gay rights" or whatever it was on a cake were being deliberately provocative. They were creating a stink and they were rather foolish to do so. If I were getting married, I would not go near a homophobe. I certainly would not get my hair done in a hair salon where they were objecting to gay people. They would fry the skull off one. I would not give them the bloody business of printing the invitations. This is just provocation. There are a small number of people who are a bit doolally on these issues. Leave them alone and let them suffer and stink in their ignorance. The idea that conscience is a ground for discrimination, for apartheid, and for taking rights away from other citizens is utterly shameful. I do not think it is conscience at all.