A Sinn Fein motion to introduce same-sex ‘marriage’ in Northern Ireland has been defeated by 53 votes to 42.
A total of 50 unionist MLAs and three Alliance members voted against the measure. Those in support included 37 nationalist and three unionist members.
A similar motion was rejected by the Northern Ireland Assembly in October last year.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) tabled a petition of concern prior to the vote, which meant the motion could have been blocked even if a majority voted for it.
“Reckless”
Finance Minister Sammy Wilson, of the DUP, said that the petition was needed to stop “reckless legislation.”
“This is not an issue of equality, it is an issue of redefining marriage as it has always been understood,” he said.
“Once there's a change in the legal definition of marriage then those who take up contrary views will find themselves up against the law - their rights will be infringed”.
Legal challenge
Earlier this month, Amnesty International and homosexual lobby group Rainbow announced its decision to take joint legal action to force same-sex ‘marriages’ to be adopted in Northern Ireland.
Amnesty’s program director, Patrick Corrigan, said there would be a “clear obligation” on Northern Ireland to redefine marriage should same-sex ‘marriage’ be introduced in other parts of the UK.
Comment
Welcoming the result, Andrea Williams CEO of Christian Concern, said:
“This is a very positive result. The majority who voted against the motion should be congratulated for refusing to be intimidated by the threats of Amnesty International. The people of Northern Ireland are perfectly entitled to keep the legal definition of marriage as between a man and a woman, even if Westminster decides to redefine it.
“We have already seen the marginalisation of people who believe in traditional marriage before any change in the law. The DUP was right to highlight this very real danger.
“Given that the Assembly voted against a similar measure last October, this result should come as no surprise. The push for same sex ‘marriage’ is a top-down movement and I hope that MLAs in Northern Ireland continue to stand for true marriage”.
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