The police were called after the Archbishop of York received hate mail following the comments he released regarding gay marriage last week.
On the 27th January the Archbishop John Sentamu opposed gay marriage in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.
The Archbishop stated that, in his opinion, “marriage must remain between a man and a woman […] It is set in tradition […] you can’t (change it) overnight, no matter how powerful you are.”
Although no details have been given of the contents of the mail, it is understood to include threats against the Archbishop, a number of which are reportedly racially charged.
The City of York’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) group have denied any involvement in the hate mail, as have the University of York’s respective society. Dr Sentamu’s comments immediately prompted a response from YUSU, who staged a demonstration outside the York Minster, and saw over 70 people attend.
The Archbishop’s office issued a statement regarding the threats. “A large quantity of correspondence was received in response to the Archbishop’s interview with The Daily Telegraph… there have been a small number of abusive and threatening e-mails of a racist nature, which North Yorkshire Police are investigating as ‘Hate Crimes’.”
His office also added that the Archbishop would continue to defend people in civil partnerships and gay and lesbian people.
One student, Sofia Khan, argued that although she doesn’t support the use of hate mail, the comments made by the Archbishop were extremely distasteful. She told Vision: “I don’t understand where the Archbishop is coming from, why shouldn’t gay couples be allowed to get married?”
Another student, Sophy Bullard, was more supportive of the Archbishop however, saying: “I don’t really agree with him but people should be allowed to voice their opinions without fear of being threatened.”
Leon Morris, running for YUSU LGBT Officer, described the hate mail as, “an unfortunate consequence of Dr John Sentamu’s comment itself.”
However, he felt that the comments made by Dr Sentamu as “hurtful and archaic”, and continued; “they would naturally aggrieve many people who study and live in York.” Morris did go on to say that the hate mail is “unfortunate but is completely outside of the protest’s influence and aim.”