But the government faced intense pressure from gay rights groups, like Peter Tatchell's OutRage!
Human rights organisation the Peter Tatchell Foundation issued a statement saying it was "not a particularly homophobic viewpoint".
Shortly after Mr Smith's demotion Peter Tatchell, a prominent campaigner on gay and lesbian issues, described the trust's actions as "excessive".
Simon Hughes won the seat of Southwark for the Liberal Party in a notoriously bitter 1983 by-election, against Labour's Peter Tatchell.
Activist Peter Tatchell, who helped organise the demonstration, claimed the pontiff ordered a cover-up in a 2001 edict to Catholic Bishops worldwide.
In the UK's Guardian , Peter Tatchell describes how rape is used as a weapon of war in the killing fields of Darfur.
Speakers at the rally included Lord Waheed Alli, the first openly gay peer, Peter Tatchell, Gay and Human Rights Campaigner, co-founder of OutRage!
Political campaigner Peter Tatchell described THT's response as "excessive and disproportionate".
Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell says he hopes a gay Welsh cleric can now become an Anglican bishop after the church relaxed its stance on the issue.
Wedding bells are close to ringing on same-sex marriages elsewhere: Leading human rights activist Peter Tatchell hailed Obama's move as evidence that support for same-sex marriage was "an unstoppable global trend".
But according to gay activist and friend Peter Tatchell, the pressure of leading a double life, coupled later with the abuse he received from supporters everywhere he played, left an indelible mark.
CNN: Soccer's last taboo: Why gay players stay in the closet
The campaign against section five has forged some unlikely alliances, with left-wing human rights activist Peter Tatchell backing it alongside Conservative MP David Davis and Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party.
During the first day of Mr Yudhoyono's visit, human rights activist Peter Tatchell was arrested for a breach of the peace after he tried to reach the car of the Indonesian president as he left Westminster Abbey.
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