Equal marriage bill passes Report Stage in House of Lords

The equal marriage bill for England and Wales has passed through its Report stage in the House of Lords, and is now set for its Third Reading next Monday.

After a long day of debate on a number of amendments and issues, the House of Lords was adjourned, as the bill remained intact, despite several attempts to wreck it.

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill was subject to scrutiny, and many Government amendments were added, in order to tidy it up.

It avoided amendments such as one from Lord Singh, which called for a referendum on equal marriage in October, and another which had been accused of attempting to allow faith schools to opt-out of teaching about same-sex marriage.

As it is now in its final form, it will return to the House of Lords on Monday for a vote.

If passed in its Third Reading, the bill will be different to that which passed in the House of Commons, so will return there to for approval.

If the House of Commons makes changes, the bill returns to the House of Lords, and can go back and forth until both are agreed. This process is known as parliamentary ping pong, and is scheduled for 16 and 17 July, when Parliament goes into recess. If the process is not agreed by then, the bill cannot be debated again until late into 2013.

Once eventually passed in both Houses, the bill will be given Royal Assent, before coming law, however it is unlikely that Royal Assent will be given until after summer recess.

PinkNews.co.uk ran a live blog throughout the day and evening. You can read a summary of everything that was discussed and voted on here.

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