The House of Lords has voted to allow the Government’s Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill to proceed to the next stage.
An amendment designed to wreck the Bill, tabled by Crossbench peer Lord Dear, was defeated by 390 votes to 148.
The Bill will now go to committee stage where it will be examined further, and any amendments will be added before another vote at its Third Reading.
Support
Among those to support Lord Dear’s amendment were the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, the former Tory Lord Chancellor, Lord Mackay of Clashfern, and the former head of the Army, General Lord Dannatt.
Lord Dear argued that the bill had been “ill-thought through,” had no democratic legitimacy and would “completely alter the concept of marriage as we know it.”
“[The Bill] seeks to overturn centuries of tradition, heedless of public opinion and the views of religious leaders,” he said.
Abuse
Lord Dannatt accused the Government of committing an “abuse of the democratic process” in the way that the legislation had been rushed through.
“Following due process and procedure is a principle that I spent the 40 years of my professional life upholding,” he said.
“We fought for the ballot box for 38 years in Northern Ireland... and now as a Parliamentarian I am asked to accept an abuse of the democratic process and I will not do it.”
Prayer gathering
During the two day debate, Christians gathered outside Parliament to pray that God’s pattern for marriage as between a man and a woman would be upheld.
Andrea Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, said:
“It’s been great to see so many Christians gather outside Parliament over the past couple of days to pray for our leaders. The atmosphere has been fantastic. Christians know how precious God’s design for marriage and the family is. We know how important it is for the future of our country which is why we’ve been out here praying yesterday and today.
Disappointed
“We are disappointed that the House of Lords has allowed the Bill to progress. There is no mandate for this Bill. It wasn’t in any of the major parties’ election manifestos, it wasn’t in the Coalition Government’s Agreement and it was not in the Queen’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament last year or this year. Due democratic process has been disregarded”.
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