Which uk parties support gay marriage

No large strife has been driven up about the bill; certainly nothing on the scale of the protests in France. Instead, in a typically English way, many have muttered loud reservations before retiring to the woodwork defeated. So here we are. For many LGBT activists it has been a case of the same usual suspects trotting out the same old arguments against equal rights.

Hearteningly society has left such political dinosaurs far behind and the Marriage Same Sex Couples Act has had healthy majorities of support in both legislative bodies. Indeed few would have imagined that the same Conservative Party, which so virulently opposed nearly every bill giving LGBT individuals equal rights in the 90s and 00s, would be the party now legalising same-sex marriage.

His party did not unite behind him and a majority of Conservative MPs voted against the proposals to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. Worse many of his backbenchers have noisily decried the proposals, likening homosexuality to incest, polygamy and linking the proposals to the end of marriage, the family and perhaps society itself.

The on-going project to modernise the Conservative Party is not yet done. Equally the Church of England and the Catholic Church have proven to be vocal opponents to the proposals. Organising under the banner of the mildly ironically titled Coalition for Marriage, senior Church figures have argued against equal marriage.

Not all faith groups have lined up against the proposals and the Quakers, Liberal Judaism and Unitarians have said they would welcome same-sex marriage ceremonies. Nonetheless, these stances have largely run counter to public sentiment.

Political manifestos and the LGBTQIA+ community

Polling of the public for the last 10 years has regularly found majority support for the equal right to marry, which has only strengthened with time. Such partie mirrors the increasing openness in society and the increasing acceptance for openly LGBTIQ people in public life and culture. Instead we have had the leaders of each of the major three parties, leading newspapers and countless celebrities lining up to support the move.

Yet the bill is by no means perfect, and the Green Party of England and Wales has worked hard to highlight this. The bill has failed to guarantee equal rights over pensions for same-sex couples. Unfortunately same-sex couples could face great uncertainty over whether one spouse would have equal inheritance rights to pension benefits should one spouse die.

Caroline Lucas, the sole Green MP, submitted amendments to close the loophole but was initially rebuffed by both the coalition government and the opposition Labour Party. Moreover the bill has troubling implications for transgender people. This legislation means that transgender people could find their transition much more difficult.

In a time where over a marriage of married trans people said that their spouse made getting divorced which, and over half say that in the long term they experienced negative reactions from their spouse, handing support such lopsided power to one spouse is neither needed nor helpful. The government has also reacted dramatically to concerns over religious freedom, and in some minds has gone too far.

The proposals have banned the Church of England explicitly from conducting same-sex marriages, even if they chose to at some point recognise them. Finally while the bill still retains Civil Partnerships for same-sex couples who wish to keep them, the bill does not introduce Civil Partnerships for opposite-sex couples. Again Caroline Lucas and Peter Tatchell have protested against the omission and have proven to be powerful and effective advocates for introducing actually equal marriage.

Gay these flaws the bill is a positive step in the right direction, even if more work is required.