LGBT and Pride. Pride stands for "respect". I listen in this House daily and people say "far left" and "far right" and brand everything. What is wrong with just being yourself? Why do you have to be branded? Respect means that if somebody is gay, lesbian or trans, you give them respect and let them give you respect. I do not believe in all of this branding. They are people, human beings. That is what they are. I have been attacked here and called far right and a homophobe and then people found out I have a son who is gay. Why should he be branded as gay? He is my son. He is a person. Why do we have to brand everything? Regardless of what you are or what you want to be, you should be treated with respect for whatever you want to be. If someone has a problem with that, it is they who have the problem, not the person who wants to be whatever they are. That is what it comes down to - simple respect. As a father, grandfather and public representative, I am hopeful that, in future, regardless of what you are and how you identify as in this country or in this world, you will be safe and when you go out, you will not be targeted or identified for being different. For decades, people who had disabilities were hidden from the public. Now, and rightly so, they are part of our families, communities and workforce, where they were previously identified and hidden away. If anything can be learned from this today, it is that respect equals pride. Regardless of what you are or who you are, nobody should be labelled. You are a person, a human being, and that deserves respect from all sides, regardless of your beliefs or religion. It does not matter. I have my religion and other people have theirs. I respect theirs and they respect mine. That is what I stand for - respect. If you cannot respect other people and you have a go at other people, even down to religion, then you have the problem. I do not and it does not bother me any more. There is only one answer I have for people like that; in one ear and out two.

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