More Hypocrisy: Anti-gay MP Iris Robinson's Lover Said to Have Been under 21

I written before about Irish gay-hater, Iris Robinson (pictured at left), a Member of Parliament who condemned gays as sinners, advocated for reparative therapy, and pushed an anti-equality agenda. Recently, Ms. Robinson announced that she would be retiring from politics for health and family reasons. Turns out, Robinson must have been studying GOP politicians in the USA. It seems that the real story behind her resignation is that she was having an adulterous affair with Kirk McCambley (at far left), a man believed to be one third her age. Oh dear, another homophobic sinner caught by her own disregard of the "family values" standards she would impose on others. Of course, when it comes to hypocrisy, Ms. Robinson is in the good company of the child abusing Catholic Church. But maybe she just thought she really WAS Anne Bancroft in the movie, The Graduate. Both Pink News and the Daily Mail have more details. First some highlights from Pink News:

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Homophobic Northern Ireland MP Iris Robinson's affair was thought to have been with a young man aged under 21 at the time. News channel UTV, which broke the story of her affair and suicide attempt yesterday, reported the claim this evening. Robinson, who is 60, said the affair and suicide attempt took place in March 2008. She said the "brief" liaison began "completely innocently" when she offered support to someone who had suffered a family death.
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Earlier today, The Times reported that a BBC investigation into the finances of Robinson and her husband Peter, who is Northern Ireland's first minister, was what prompted her to reveal details of her affair and attempted suicide. The "embarrassing" television documentary was to be broadcast with allegations over the first family's financial affairs.
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Robinson, a fundamentalist Christian, was labelled a bigot for a series of outbursts last year in which she made offensive comments about homosexuality. In 2008, she told the Belfast Telegraph that homosexuality was comparable to paedophilia. She also told a radio show that homosexuality was a mental illness and could be "cured".
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Not surprisingly, the Dail Mail has some juicier tid bits on the affair and refers to McCambley as obinson's toyboy. Here are some highlights:
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Last night sources close to Mrs Robinson revealed her lover's name to be Kirk McCambley - and they said he was 19 when the pair became involved 18 months ago. . . . They apparently met in March 2008 at the funeral of Mr McCambley's father, a friend of Mrs Robinson. The young man, now 21, owns the Lock Keeper's Inn in south Belfast. Details of the affair were revealed by the BBC in an interview with her husband. Last night it was claimed that Mrs Robinson organised a £50,000 loan to help her toyboy lover set up the restaurant business.
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Mrs Robinson and Mr McCambley's affair lasted for around five months, ending after they allegedly rowed over the repayment of the money. . . In her statement she said: 'Everyone is paying a heavy price for my actions... I am so, so sorry. It had no emotional or lasting meaning, but my actions have devastated my life, and the lives of those around me.'
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Her name will bring to mind the fictional Mrs Robinson, played by Anne Bancroft who had an affair with a man half her age, played by Dustin Hoffman, in the 1967 film The Graduate.

Anti-Gay Irish MP Quits Over Mental Illness

I did several prior posts on Anti-Gay Irish MP, Iris Robinson (pictured at left), who back in 2008 made crazy anti-gay statements - she called homosexuality disgusting, loathsome, nauseating, wicked and vile - and came out supporting reparative therapy for LGBT citizens. Now, Ms. Robinson is resigning from office due to her mental health issues - as if those of us in the LGBT blogosphere didn't already know that she had mental health issues. Here's what PinkNews reported her as saying in June 2008 (a statement she refused to retract):
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"I have a very lovely psychiatrist who works with me in my offices and his Christian background is that he tries to help homosexuals trying to turn away from what they are engaged in. "And I have met people who have turned around to become heterosexual." Mrs Robinson turned down an invitation from gay rights group Rainbow Project to meet with gay and lesbian people and hear about their experiences and concerns.
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Fast forward to December, 2009, and here is what a Dublin news site is reporting relative to Ms. Robinson's resignation:
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DUP MP and MLA Iris Robinson, wife of Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson, is to quit politics after admitting she has suffered serious bouts of depression.

'As many people will be aware, I have recently tried to return to the full-time work of representing my constituents following my latest period of illness. Over the years, I have undergone a long series of operations and though I have never talked about it publicly, I have, against this background, also battled against serious bouts of depression.
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'Only those who have faced similar challenges in life will know the ordeal faced by those who are profoundly depressed and the distress caused to those around them as they grapple with personality changing illness.'
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As one who personally deals with issues of depression, I am not totally unsympathetic to Ms. Robinson. However, nothing excises an elected official for making such vile statements about other citizens. Once in office, one is supposed to represent ALL of their constituents, not just who hold the same religious views.

Irish MP: Gays More Vile Than Child Abusers

I am beginning to think that Strangford MP, Iris Robinson (at left), is Oklahoma Representative Sally Kern's Siamese twin who was spirited away at birth. She is just as mean spirited and judgmental as Ms. Kern. Like Kern, Iris Robinson doesn't know when to keep he mouth shut and seems to revel in looking like a homophobic bigot. I truly hope she comes to find herself with numerous LGBT children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, etc. It could not happen to a better person. OK, I take that back. Daddy Dobson's son coming out of the closet would be way more fun. :) I suppose in her delusions Ms. Robinson believes that her hateful comments have no impact on encouraging homophobes to engage in violence against gays. Here are some highlights from the Belfast Telegraph that expose Iris' latest diarrhea of the mouth (note how after utterly debasing gays, Ms. Robinson disingenuously claims that she bears no hate):

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Iris Robinson has walked into her biggest controversy yet after stating in Parliament that homosexuality is “viler” than child sex abuse, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal today. The First Minister’s wife made the controversial comments in the House of Commons in front of Policing and Justice Minister Paul Goggins and a committee of UK MPs during a debate on the assessment and management of sex offenders.

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Speaking about community concerns over sex offenders Mrs Robinson then stated: “There can be no viler act, apart from homosexuality and sodomy, than sexually abusing innocent children.” Her comments have not been omitted from a written transcript of the debate which has been published on the Parliament website. When contacted by the Belfast Telegraph Mrs Robinson said she stood by her views and stated that homosexuality was “comparable” to child sex abuse.

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Mrs Robinson added: “I cannot think of anything more sickening than a child being abused. It is comparable to the act of homosexuality. I think they are all comparable. I feel totally repulsed by both.” . . . . Anything I say is out of love. I am not hate-mongering. I cannot leave my Christian values hanging at the door when I go into politics. “I am speaking out more now because we are getting it more and more rammed down our throats that the minority views are more important than the majority views.

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“She is being very irresponsible making these sort of cruel and frighteningly ignorant comments. “We [the Gay Rights Association] feel that a responsible MLA would be glad to listen to our views and she should meet with the health professionals who work in the gay and lesbian sector instead of making wild and totally unscientific statements.

Anti-gay Bigotry Alive and Well in Northern Ireland

The Christianists in America have been working hard to export their anti-gay bigotry to other countries, the UK and Australia among them. Apparently, there is fertile ground for their noxious posion and bogus "ex-gay" programs among some in Northern Ireland as evidenced by the outburst of the wife of Northern Ireland's new First Minister, DUP leader Peter Robinson. One would think that Ms. Robinson and Sally Kern have been having get togethers to refine their anti-gay tirades. As always, these "Godly Christians" are anything but Christian in their treatment of others. Fortuantely, the Independent also quotes medical expert who debunks the "cure" myth. Here are some highlights from the Independent:

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THE wife of Northern Ireland's new First Minister, DUP leader Peter Robinson, sparked outrage yesterday by offering to put gay people in touch with a psychiatrist who would help make them heterosexual. Just one day into his new job, Mr Robinson saw his wife Iris, who is also the DUP's health spokeswoman in the Stormont Assembly, dragged into a massive political row. The Strangford MP launched a stinging attack on homosexuality on a live radio phone-in show after a 27-year-old gay man was beaten up in a homophobic attack near his home and left with horrific injuries.

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Mrs Robinson described homosexuality as "disgusting, nauseous, loathsome, shamefully wicked and vile" and said her strong Christian upbringing meant she would never change her views and nothing would stop her from speaking out on the issue.

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She then offered to put gay and lesbian people in touch with a psychiatrist who she described as a born-again-Christian who would help them change their sexuality. Mrs Robinson told BBC's Nolan Show: "I have a lovely psychiatrist who works with me and who tries to help homosexuals turn away from what they are engaged in. "Homosexuality is not natural. My Christian beliefs tell me that it is an abomination and that is very clear. "It is an offence to God, an offensive act and something that God abhors.

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But Michael King from the Royal Society of Psychiatrists said there was no evidence people could obtain psychiatric help to stop them being gay. He said such treatment was potentially harmful. Professor King added: "There is a lot of evidence going back 50 years to suggest that attempts to change people's sexuality in either direction are not possible.