Peaches Honeyblossom Geldof, the
daughter of singer Bob Geldof and British television personality
Paula Yates, has compared the UK's ban on gay marriage to apartheid
and called opponents of marriage equality “small-minded bigots.”
In a lengthy editorial published on
Independent Voices, the 23-year-old television presenter told
of her decade-long friendship with Daniel, whose boyfriend, Ben, was
thrown out of his home as a teen after coming out gay to his parents.
“They both told him he was sick and a
failure,” Geldof wrote. “He left home.”
Daniel and Ben eventually married in
New York.
“These boys, who had been such an
intrinsic part of my teenage years, were finally getting what they
deserved. It was a beautiful moment.”
“As everyone gathered outside the
city hall, I spotted Ben's parents. They seemed nervous, but they
were there. … In that moment I saw how powerful marriage can be.”
“I have had first-hand experience of
how wonderful the introduction of gay marriage has been, and how
negative and potentially damaging it is to not allow it, which just
breeds more homophobia. For a country and culture that declares
ourselves so progressive, our governments, citizens and, of course,
our churches, can be small-minded bigots at the best of times. One
day we'll look back on the gay marriage ban as we look back on
historical events like apartheid. Because in the end, that's what it
is, pointless, futile segregation. I long for the day when we break
free of this Orwellian ridiculousness, a nation of dictating pigs,
where 'all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others,'”
she
added.