Date recorded: 24/03/2011 Debate: This House Believes the Path to Success is Straight PROPOSITION: T CDR CRAIG JONES MBE was the most senior openly gay member of Her Majesty's Armed Forces. He served in the Royal Navy until 2008 and received his MBE for driving change and encouraging greater understanding of the gay community in the Armed Forces. REVEREND SCOTT RENNIE is the minister of Queen's Cross Church in Aberdeen and is openly gay. The cause of many complaints, on the grounds that his "lifestyle" constitutes a great "public scandal", Rennie's case is the first time a presbytery has voted in favour of a gay priest. He was Stonewall's Hero of the Year 2009. LT CDR MANDY MCBAIN joined the Royal Navy in 1986, and has since been appointed an Equality & Diversity Policy Officer in the Navy Command HQ. She established and is Chair of the Naval Service LGBT Forum, the first support network for LGBT Navy personnel. McBain recently represented the Armed Services at the NATO LGBT Working Group. OPPOSITION: LORD CHRIS SMITH is chairman of the Environment Agency and life peer in the House of Lords, as well as a former Labour MP and cabinet minister. He was the UK's first openly gay MP and the only British politician to acknowledge that he is HIV positive. Lord Smith was the president of the Cambridge Union in Michaelmas 1972. FEMI OTITOJU Founder and Training Director at Challenge Consultancy, which works to help companies incorporate equality and diversity into their culture. She campaigns widely for gender, race and sexuality equality. ANDREW PIERCE is an acclaimed journalist, now columnist and consultative editor for The Daily Mail. Described as "a ball of giggles, gossip, scandal and kinetic energy", Pierce was also ranked the sixth most powerful gay person in British politics by PinkNews.co.uk in 2007. Results Ayes 52 Noes 82 Abstentions 77

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