One of Britain’s most influential family lawyers has attacked the Coalition’s same-sex ‘marriage’ plans, saying they go against principles established for thousands of years.
Baroness Butler-Sloss said plans to redefine marriage would lead to the destruction of the meaning of marriage without giving same sex couples any significant new rights.
The former president of the High Court Family Division said that clauses which remove the concept of adultery in same-sex divorces would encourage “immorality.”
As a Judge, Lady Butler-Sloss is known to be a supporter of same sex couples adopting children. As an independent peer, she supported a landmark Lords amendment allowing same-sex couples to celebrate civil partnerships in churches and other religious buildings.
“Step too far”
But she said many of her fellow peers believe that the introduction of same-sex ‘marriage’ is a “step too far.”
“I have always spoken in favour of same-sex relationships and the rights of homosexual people. This does seem to me a different issue and one which attacks marriage”.
Affecting all religions
Lady Butler-Sloss admitted that her reservations were partly religious but went far beyond the bounds of Christianity.
“I think it is a destruction of the word 'marriage’, which has been understood for many years to mean what the Christians say it does,” she said.
“It would not only affect Christians but it would affect Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs and all the other religions”. She added that all the major religions have seen marriage as being based on the procreation of children.
No new rights
She also highlighted that in practical terms marriage wouldn’t give same-sex couples any new rights on divorce than already exist for civil partners. By contrast, she said, there was a pressing need for an overhaul of the law to prevent thousands of unmarried mothers being left with no home, no income and no rights if their partners leave them, which she said was “profoundly unfair.”
“[I cannot understand] why the Government is faffing around with same-sex marriage when they need to be righting a wrong,” she said.
She said the Coalition Bill could promote “immorality” as officials could not agree what constitutes sex between people of the same gender, so same-sex couples cannot divorce on grounds of adultery.
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