The Government’s Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill has passed into law after receiving Royal Assent on Wednesday (17 July).
House of Lords
The bill passed its third reading in the House of Lords on Monday (15th July), with peers approving the legislation without a formal vote.
The bill cleared the Lords following a short debate when minor amendments, including those on pension arrangements for same sex couples, were proposed.
The amendments were approved by the House of Commons on Tuesday (16th July), and Commons speaker John Bercow announced that the Queen had given Royal Assent to the bill the next day.
Bulldozed
But Conservative peer Lord Framlingham said that the “ill-thought through” legislation had been “bulldozed” through Parliament.
The Coalition for Marriage (C4M) group, which has campaigned to retain the current definition of marriage between one man and one woman, said that it will plan to influence the outcome of the 2015 general election.
Almost 700,000 backed the C4M petition against the redefinition of marriage, and the group now believes that it has gauged enough support to impact the election result.
Target
They will target those who supported the petition in 39 of the most marginal seats, and persuade candidates from all parties to back conscience opt-outs for civil registrars and teachers.
Colin Hart, campaign director of the C4M said: “Mr Cameron needs to remember that the Coalition for Marriage has nearly 700,000 supporters, nearly six times the number of members of the Conservative Party.
Determined to fight
“They are just ordinary men and women, not part of the ruling elite. They are passionate, motivated and determined to fight on against a law that renders terms like husband and wife meaningless and threatens one of the foundations of the institution of marriage: fidelity and faithfulness.
“These concepts may not matter to the leaders of the three main political parties, who are drawn from a very narrow liberal political class, but they do matter to people up and down the country who believe that marriage is special, unique and the bedrock of stable families.”
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