David Cameron announced last night that he is determined to legislate for ‘same-sex marriage’ by 2015 and directly attacked the mainstream churches’ position on the issue.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, the Scottish Government this morning (25 JULY) announced that it intends to bring forward a bill introducing same-sex marriage in spite of strong opposition to the plans expressed in a recent consultation on the issue.
Speaking at a Downing Street reception last night (24 JULY) for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community the Prime Minister said that he is absolutely determined that the Coalition Government would be “legislating for gay marriage in this parliament.” He went on to say that “the promise I can make you is that this coalition government is committed both to changing the law and also working to change the culture and the Conservative party absolutely backs that. This is something that I personally feel very passionately about.”
His claim of support from the Conservative party stands at odds with the public statements of various MPs, including Cabinet ministers, who oppose the plans.
Significantly, he also singled out the mainstream churches for particular criticism, saying:
“Of course this is very, very complicated and difficult issue for all the different Churches, but I passionately believe that all institutions need to wake up to the case for equality, and the Church shouldn’t be locking out people who are gay, or are bisexual or are transgender from being full members of that Church, because many people with deeply held Christian views, are also gay. And just as the Conservative Party, as an institution, made a mistake in locking people out so I think the Churches can be in danger of doing the same thing.”
The Church of England, the Church of Scotland and the Roman Catholic Church have been voiced unusually strong opposition to the plans, focusing attention on the importance of gender distinction in marriage and its importance for the wellbeing of children. Leaders of other religious groups, including Sikhs and Muslims have also been critical of the plans.
A Com Res opinion poll earlier this year suggested that 70% of British adults believed that marriage should remain an “exclusive commitment between a man and a woman.” Further polls have suggested that the plans could cost the Conservatives between 8 and 28 seats at the next election and that 45% of Conservative MPs reported that the issue was the number one item in their postbags, with the vast majority opposed.
Announcing the Scottish Government’s plans this morning, Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said "We are committed to a Scotland that is fair and equal, and that is why we intend to proceed with plans to allow same-sex marriage and religious ceremonies for civil partnerships. We believe this is the right thing to do."
Around 77,000 responses were received to the Scottish consultation on the issue but the Scottish government has refused to reveal how many were against the plans.
Responding to the news, Andrea Minichiello Williams, CEO of Christian Concern said:
"It is astounding that our Governments in both Westminster and Edinburgh are bulldozing through the extensive and varied concerns raised about these proposals. This is an ideologically driven agenda that will stop at nothing short of the whole-scale restructuring of society and it is tragic that our political leaders have been so captured by it that they will not listen to the arguments put forward by others.
“The churches’ responses have not been reactionary or hateful. They have been careful, considered and compassionate but they have also been stark because they have recognised the grave danger. It is shocking that David Cameron, who identifies himself as a Christian, is sweeping them aside.
“David Cameron’s comments are disingenuous. All people are loved by God and welcomed by Him but that does not mean that all behavior is right or that we can pretend that marriage is something that it is not. This is not an issue of equality but of honesty. Commitment is an important aspect of marriage but that is not all there is to it. Marriage recognises that male and female are important not incidental – and complement one another.
“He is also disingenuous to suggest that he has his party’s backing on this when repeated public statements, surveys and polls show that he doesn’t.
“We cannot meddle marriage without doing further, huge damage to families, children and society. We will all pay the price.”
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