Partners in crime

An interesting amendment has been made to the Gender Recognition Bill curently going through Tynwald.
Interesting in that firstly it confirms the prejudices of the local clergy and their lack of interest in the institution of marriage or helping adults maintain stable relationships, secondly it confirms that politicians are helping them to perpetuate these prejudices under the pretence of respecting religious belief, and thirdly it suggests clergy have access to information about individuals which is, by law, confidential.
The Bill, as it suggests, is to give some legal protection to folk who’ve changed gender. Mostly mundane stuff like housing, pensions, employment and so on.
It begins with the following clauses:-

“1. (1) The Chief Registrar shall maintain in the General Registry a register to be called the Gender Recognition Register.
(2) The form in which the Gender Recognition Register is to be maintained shall be determined by the Chief Registrar.
(3) The Gender Recognition Register shall not be open to public inspection or search.”

So, basically, anyone who has changed gender need not tell the world about it in order to prevent the kneejerk prejudices, but the info is tucked away on a confidential register just to ensure no problems getting a passport, benefits or whatever.
Then, back in October, the parson’s pal, Anne Craine, agreed in the monthly Council of Ministers meeting to introduce an amendment. As recently moved in the House, this reads:

“No clergyman is obliged to solemnise the marriage of a person whose gender has become the acquired gender in accordance with the Gender Recognition Act 2008.”

What’s interesting is that wording has changed slightly from the COMIN minutes last October, when:

“Council further agreed that paragraph 2 of Schedule 2, be amended to exempt a clergyman from the obligation to solemnise the marriage of a person if the clergyman reasonably believes that the person has changed gender.”

Well, no suprises that the voodoo pimps still want to inflict their flat-earth prejudices on the rest of us.
No suprises that they can meet government in private to get their way, and get fellow zombie-worshippers amongst the political dregs to help them with legal opt-outs from their obligations as decent human beings.
One question though.
How can a voodoo pimp ‘reasonably believe’ that someone has changed gender unless someone else provides him, illegally, with the information from a confidential register?