http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2014/apr/05/archbishop-welby-gay-marriage-moral-blackmail

Justin Welby has come out with a fascinating argument against the Church of England endorsing gay marriage – which is that, were this to occur, African Christians would be murdered. He had in mind intercommunal massacres, such as the one he cited in Nigeria. He referred to a particularly harrowing experience he had in the middle belt of Nigeria, where the ethnic cleansing of a Christian village by Muslim neighbours was supposedly justified or prompted by something gay-friendly done by the Anglican church in the US.

There's no doubt that Welby was profoundly affected by the experience. He has talked about it to me privately – not your average cocktail party conversation – and he was clearly anguished by the memory of the mass grave and the way it smelled.

There was a similar account when Rowan Williams decided to ditch his old friend Jeffrey John in 2003: he was apparently told that, if John were consecrated as bishop of Reading, Christians in Pakistan would die in the subsequent rioting.

Could this be called a form of emotional blackmail? I don't buy the idea that, by telling the story, he is attempting to do this. But is he being improperly blackmailed himself?

It's also the kind of blackmail we've seen and heard used to keep LGBTs from speaking out for their rights. How many times have we heard that we shouldn't demand equality because it might hurt some Dem's chances during an election? Now we shouldn't demand equality because some religion-besotted idiots will use it as an excuse to commit mass murder? So many times this kind of emotional blackmail is played against LGBTs in order to make US feel responsible for the irrational, cruel and bigoted actions of others. I've seen this same kind of tactic used and being used against women who take a stand for equality and choice. Well I ain't buyin' that guilt trip anymore. We are not responsible for the hateful actions of bigots -- they are responsible for their own actions and if they don't have LGBTs to use as an excuse they'll simply find another.

Discriminatory policies cannot be kept in place in order to appease bigots. If he's so concerned about people in certain other countries being murdered, he should consider separating his church from them. Plenty of Christians in Uganda and elsewhere are guilty of crimes against gay people, anyway. I don't think the Church of England or the Episcopal Church in the U.S. share the same vision. I know that I wouldn't want to be part of a church that didn't respect the rights of all people, and I wouldn't want to be associated with any other churches who didn't, either.

cower in fear, just let the backward lower dregs of society rule the world, because we are too fearful to say NO and to stand up for humanity. What a loser, a waste! A failure as a leader.

And gays in Africa are being murdered - by both Muslims and Christians - as well, but that doesn't seem to concern Welby so much.

Fuck him.

LOL. Some courage HE has.

Not just Christianity. Religious bigots have been killing in the name of their various gods since religion was foisted on an unsuspecting humanity.

Religion is THE problem.