Over half a million people have signed a petition in defence of traditional marriage.
The petition, from the Coalition for Marriage (C4M), of which Christian Concern is a founding member, calls on the Government to retain the current legal definition of marriage as that between one man and one woman.
The petition was launched in opposition to the Government's plan to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples. Colin Hart, Campaign Director of C4M, said:
“This campaign proves that the British people reject the Government’s plans to change the definition of marriage. With half a million signatures, they must listen to their voters.”
Following Conservative losses in elections last week, some commentators suggested that the Government’s intention to introduce same-sex marriage had cost them votes. The Sunday Times reported that Prime Minister David Cameron was ready to back down on the proposals.
Yet Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone insisted over the weekend that there would be no u-turn and that same-sex marriage would be introduced before 2015.
Seats
A poll by ComRes suggested that the Government’s plans to introduce same-sex marriage could cost the Tories between eight and thirty seats in a general election.
The poll, commissioned for the Coalition for Marriage, found that thirty-two per cent of those who had previously voted Conservative said that the proposal to re-define marriage made them “less likely” to vote Conservative.
Another survey, conducted in the run-up to last week's local elections, found that three-quarters of David Cameron’s own constituents who voted for him at the last general election oppose his plans to redefine marriage.
Act now
Andrea Minichiello Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, said:
“The Government’s plans are a radical social experiment which will have huge consequences for our nation. Marriage and the family are the primary building block of society, and to redefine marriage away from its biblical understanding will have enormous repercussions for us all.”
At Christian Concern we are calling on each and every one of our supporters both to sign the petition and also to submit a response to the Government consultation on redefining marriage.
In order to make it easy we have prepared an online form that submits the answers directly to the Government. Each question has a pre-prepared answer that can be amended.
Sign the petition here >
Resources:
Christian Concern: Religious Freedom