Gay debate not a brawl

Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte’s press release on the debate on gay marriage is disturbing reading for any democrat.

He says commentators must accept that the debate can be robust, heated, personal and hostile. He says ‘if you enter the arena, you cannot expect the Queensbury Rules will always apply’.

Mr Rabbitte does not appreciate the difference between a boxing match and a street brawl; one is a fair and honest contest, the other a thuggish assault. The difference between robust debate and defamation of character is clear. One would hope Labour’s strategy, in the upcoming debate, is not ‘to play the man, not the ball’.