
A  pensioner has had his "opportunity to volunteer" withdrawn by the  British Red Cross because he spoke out against the redefinition of  marriage.
 
 Earlier this year, Bryan Barkley, 71, held up signs outside  Wakefield Cathedral reading "No Same Sex Marriage" and "No Redefinition  of Marriage." He did so on the day that the first same-sex marriages  took place in England.
 
 'Incompatible Views"
 
 But he has since been told that his views on marriage are  "incompatible" with the "fundamental principles and values" of the Red  Cross and that his opportunity to volunteer was being withdrawn  "permanently and with immediate effect."
 
 Barkley, who has volunteered with the Red Cross for nearly 20  years, worked in the international family tracing service, helping to  locate and reunite families in the UK with relatives in Eastern Europe,  the Middle East and Africa, and had been involved in 84 cases.
 
 He joined the Red Cross after retiring from his job as a civil  engineer. Earlier in the summer he attended a Buckingham Palace garden  party with the charity.
 
 'Freedom of Expression Being Stifled'
 
 Responding to his dismissal, Barkley asked:
 
 "What have I done wrong? I passionately believe that the  institution of marriage is between a man and a woman and is the  cornerstone of our society. Why is it wrong to say so in public?
 
 "Freedom of expression is being stifled in this country.
 
 "I have nothing against homosexuals. But I don't believe  Parliament was representing the views of the people when it changed the  definition of marriage."
 
 Barkley, who is being supported by the Coalition for Marriage, is appealing the Red Cross' decision.
 
 "Discrimination Against a Common Viewpoint'
 
 Andrea Williams, Chief Executive of Christian Concern, which is a member of the Coalition for Marriage, commented:
 
 "The Red Cross does not seem to be able to extend its founding  principles of impartiality and neutrality to Bryan Barkley. It has  discriminated against him for holding common views on the natural  family. Such discrimination will not serve the Red Cross well."