Video: Culture Secretary Maria Miller comes @Out4Marriage and defends record

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The new Culture Secretary Maria Miller has once again signalled her full backing to the coalition’s policy on same-sex marriage by recording a video for the Out4Marriage campaign.

She has followed in the footsteps of fellow Conservatives such as London Mayor Boris Johnson, Home Secretary Theresa May and Lib Dem leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

Earlier this month, the decision to transfer responsibility of the Government Equalities Office to Mrs Miller as part of David Cameron’s reshuffle alarmed many LGBT campaigners.

Individuals, ranging from grassroots activists to prominent gay politicians, pointed to Mrs Miller’s poor LGBT voting record.

She was absent from the vote on the Equality Act of 2007, and she voted against allowing same-sex couples access to fertility treatment in 2008.

Yesterday afternoon PinkNews.co.uk asked Mrs Miller if her parliamentary record meant she was not the best person to look after the equalities brief, she replied:

“I think that the important thing is to look at my views on things like equal civil marriage, my views on equality and I think when you look at voting records, I think things are a little bit hazy, the issues that you are voting on are often quite complicated.”

When asked if she could remember why she was not present in the Commons for the vote on the Equality Act, Mrs Miller replied:

“I think the important thing is that we have got an Equality Act and that it was actually supported by all parties. It puts in place some very basic rights and equalities issues which were long overdue to be addressed and I think that’s what’s important.”

In her Out4Marriage video, Mrs Miller said:

“Equal civil marriage is something that people feel very strongly about and that’s why we have undertaken a consultation recently and had record numbers of submissions and we are looking at those submissions very closely indeed.

Mrs Miller continued: “But there is one thing that I and the government know, [it] is the importance of marriage and the value it brings to our society.

“Whether that’s a marriage between a man and a woman, two men, or two women, marriage should be for everyone – and the measures we have brought forward, to make sure that marriage is open to all couples will help make sure that marriage is strengthened in our society and more relevant than ever”.

 

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