For those of you who haven't heard, the Leader of the Opposition, John Key has argued, on GayNZ.com and in Express, that while he personally supported LGBT adoption, just as he personally supported civil unions but didn't vote in favour... he wouldn't be raising the issue if National won the next New Zealand general election in 2008, nor would he necessarily vote for any such legislation if it arose in the future. Much would depend on what his (rural Tory) electorate did or said. Well, John, personally, I thank you for your candour and I like you as a person. However, two can play at that game, and I'm afraid that I can't let my respect for your honesty affect my voting decision next year. Which is that if one wants any remedy to discriminatory anti-LGBT adoption laws, one would do well to vote for a Labour/Green coalition next time, and insure that United Future and NZF are banished from the electoral stage. Not that Peter Dunne's courageous decision to vote for the Bradford Bill's first and second readings will neccessarily mean that there is a United Future though, as I suspect his erstwhile fundamentalist followers in Future New Zealand may interpret this as a sign that even Dunne may realise that his baggage is a detriment to his future electoral survival. John Key has just alienated himself from a large segment of New Zealand's LGBT communities. It is not enough to state that civil unions are safe with him. It is not enough that he admittedly did vote against the Copeland same-sex marriage ban bill in December 2005. It is time that all of us moved on, and Key needs to realise that if he isn't willing to take a proactive role on LGBT rights, he forfeits any right to expect electoral support from our communities in return. Craig Young - 12th March 2007