Video: Anti-equal marriage group says government expecting people to ‘change their religious beliefs’

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One of the UK’s largest campaign groups against equal marriage has released a video outlining its plans for the future, including being on “high alert”, and claiming that it is required to “help people who are in difficulty because of their convictions about marriage”.

In the programme named Marriage Minutes, Coalition4Marriage (C4M) spokesperson Dr Sharon James outlines the organisation’s plans going forward, including promoting what she calls “real marriage”, and accusing the British Government of expecting people to “fall into line, and change their deeply held beliefs.”

The campaign group was set up primarily to attempt to block the passage of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, which has now received Royal Assent.

The Act contains a quadruple lock, which specifically protects religious organisations which do not want to perform same-sex marriages from legal threats, requiring the governing bodies of organisations to opt-in. It also bars the Church of England from being able to opt-in.

In the video, Dr James says: “A few weeks ago, we announced that the Coalition For Marriage will continue to defend and promote real marriage. I want to share with you our plan for the way ahead. C4M will regularly provide supporters with news, information and action alerts. We will promote respect for traditional beliefs about marriage in the public sector, including schools. We will help people who are in difficulty because of their convictions about marriage, and expose injustice.

“We will continue to press the government for civil liberties for people who believe in real marriage. We will be on high alert, ready to resist further erosions of marriage. We will make the case for real marriage in the media in a calm and rational way, but with clarity and force.

“And we will hold politicians and public bodies to account, and inform voters at election time where candidates and parties stand on the issue of marriage. The political elite just want to put this issue behind them. In their arrogance they think everyone should fall into line, and change their deeply held beliefs.

“Please stand with us as we continue to tell the truth about marriage,” she concludes.

In an exclusive interview with PinkNews.co.uk back in June, Dr James said Liberal Judaism, the Unitarians and the Quakers had been given “a disproportionate amount of time” in the debate for equal marriage at the expense of “mainstream Christian people”.