Sack Grayling Petition!

News broke late on Saturday that Tory Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling had said people who run bed & breakfasts should be allowed to refuse business to gay and lesbian couples.

David Cameron has said nothing.

But time is up, and the Tories must either stand by or condemn this intolerance.

Moreover, Cameron needs to make a clear statement of policy.

Will Cameron sit by and silently accept this sort of bigotry, or will he reassure the people of Britain that he means what he says that his party has changed?

Allowing certain business-owners to discriminate based on sexual orientation opens the door to discrimination based on race, religion, country of origin, and anything else -- and to the sort of inequality that we thought we'd said goodbye to forever in this country.

Sign this urgent petition to David Cameron, telling him to sack Chris Grayling and clearly state his party's stance on discrimination:

http://action.compassonline.org.uk/grayling

Grayling's comments aren't just at odds with the law he hopes to protect as home secretary -- they call into question the sincerity of the Tory Party's entire election platform.

To be clear, this was no verbal slip-up -- the setting was a closed-door meeting of influential Conservatives who thought the cameras and tape-recorders weren't running.

When they know they're on tape, the Tories sing a very different tune. In fact, in 2006, the Conservatives blocked a candidate in Northern Ireland who said much the same thing as Grayling. Associating themselves with this sort of bigotry undermines their claim that this is a different Conservative Party than the one we were used to -- and they know it.

The Tories think slick marketing and a fresh face will make people forget the undercurrent of intolerance that drives their political strategy -- and that we'll ignore the vast inconsistencies between what they say in public, and where they privately intend to lead this nation.

We can't let this one go. Tell David Cameron to sack Grayling and forcefully condemn the remarks:

http://action.compassonline.org.uk/grayling