UK Marriage Bill
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15 February 2013US Televangelist: Equal marriage in England and Wales signals ‘the beginning of the end’ 61 A US Christian televangelist has written that moves towards marriage equality in England and Wales were "alarming", that it could lead to the end of the world, and that "Western civilisation" would end up in hell if it doesn't "wake up." -
15 February 2013Welsh Secretary David Jones: Gay parents cannot provide a ‘safe environment for the upbringing of children’ 25 Stonewall Cymru has criticised the claims of Welsh Secretary David Jones, who said in an interview that he voted against the same-sex marriage bill because gay parents can't provide a "warm and safe environment" for children. -
15 February 2013UK: Equality commission says Christian registrars cannot opt out of marrying gay couples 31 Christian registrars will not be able to opt out of performing marriages for gay couples, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has said. -
15 February 2013Conservative MP Crispin Blunt: The moment I came out as gay to my wife was a huge relief 38 Conservative MP Crispin Blunt, who came out publically as gay in August 2010, has again spoken about the decision in light of last week’s vote by MPs on equal marriage. -
14 February 2013UK: Equality and Human Rights Commission says same-sex marriage bill poses no threat to religious opponents 12 The Equality and Human Rights Commission has dismissed claims that the equal marriage poses a threat to religious freedom. -
14 February 2013Brendan O’Neill: Equal marriage is an elitist campaign with no roots in the public 91 Journalist Brendan O'Neill appeared before the Public Bill Committee scrutinising the same-sex marriage bill, and used the opportunity to argue that it was "an elitist campaign that doesn't have any traction with the public". -
14 February 2013Dr Jeffrey John: Allowing individual parishes to decide on equal marriage ‘more Christian’ 14 Speaking to the Public Bills Committee on Thursday to give evidence in favour of equal marriage, Dr Jeffrey John, the openly gay Dean of St Albans, said he thought it would be "more Christian" to allow individual parishes to make up their own minds on equal marriage. -
14 February 2013Catholic Labour MP criticises Archbishop of Southwark for suggesting Catholics will leave Church over equal marriage 9 The Catholic Archbishop of Southwark Peter Smith has been criticised for claiming that most Catholics who support equal marriage would be prepared to leave the Church over the issue -
14 February 2013Video: Green MP Caroline Lucas comes @Out4Marriage and trans inclusion at Parliament 1 After casting her vote in favour of equal marriage at last Tuesday's vote on it in the House of Commons, Green MP Caroline Lucas gave an impassioned speech to LGBT rights advocates. -
14 February 2013Lib Dem MP Sarah Teather to face two days of protests by Labour for voting against equal marriage 69 Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather is to face a weekend of protests by Labour in her north London constituency in response to her decision to vote against the same-sex marriage bill. -
14 February 2013Lord Pannick: Forcing churches to perform same-sex weddings would be ‘more difficult than parting the Red Sea’ 17 A top Blackstone lawyer and peer has given evidence to the Public Bill Committee scrutinising the same-sex marriage bill to the effect that succeeding in a court case against a church that refuses to opt-in to same-sex weddings would be legally impossible. -
13 February 2013Tory MP Henry Smith: MPs who abstained in the same-sex marriage vote are ‘chickens’ 31 Conservative MP Henry Smith has described MPs who abstained in last week’s vote of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill as “chickens”. -
13 February 2013UK: Conservative councillor Mormon brothers leave party over equal marriage 56 Two Mormon councillors in Warwickshire, who are also brothers, have quit the Conservative Party over its support for same-sex marriage. -
12 February 2013Tory MP David Burrowes: PinkNews is ‘fomenting abuse’ against equal marriage opponents 92 Tory MP David Burrows has accused PinkNews of "fomenting hostility" against the opponents of equal marriage. -
12 February 2013Michael Gove seeks to reassure Tory equal marriage critics in front of committee 13 Education Secretary Michael Gove has again sought to reassure critical Conservative MPs that the government’s same-sex marriage bill for England and Wales poses no threat to teachers who disagree with the reform. -
12 February 2013Coalition for Marriage: ‘The equal marriage bill is causing a shortage of teachers’ 59 Whilst giving evidence to the The Public Bill Committee of the House of Commons around the equal marriage bill, the Coalition for Marriage blamed potential marriage equality for a shortage of teachers. -
12 February 2013Stonewall boss: Civil partnerships haven’t reduced homophobia so we need equal marriage 33 The chief executive of Stonewall says his charity’s support for equal marriage stems from the failure of civil partnership legalisation to reduce homophobia in British society. -
12 February 2013Labour MP Chris Bryant criticises Culture Secretary Maria Miller for saying marriage is the ‘gold standard’ 34 Labour MP Chris Bryant has taken offence after Culture Secretary Maria Miller said marriage was the “gold standard” – with the MP claiming it devalued his own civil partnership. -
12 February 2013UK: Same-sex marriage bill to face scrutiny from Commons committee by MPs with mixed views on equality 24 The Public Bill Committee of the House of Commons – made up of MPs who both have spoken against and in favour of LGBT equality – begins the task of scrutinising the government’s equal marriage bill this afternoon. -
11 February 2013House of Lords may stage an anti-equal marriage rebellion 29 Peers in the House of Lords have said that they expect around half of their colleagues to oppose the same-sex marriage bill, potentially creating severe delays in its progress or scuppering it altogether.
