Tory MP Calls for Churches to be Banned From Holding Marriages if They Refuse Gay Couples [UK]

Pink News ^ | 9/2/11 | Jessica Geen

[marshmallow]

Mike Weatherley, the Conservative MP for Hove, has called for churches to be banned from holding marriages if they refuse to perform civil partnerships for gay couples.

He says that the idea will bring more equality for gay couples.

In a letter (see below) to prime minister David Cameron, Mr Weatherley wrote: “As long as religious groups can refuse to preside over ceremonies for same-sex couples there will be inequality.

“Such behaviour is not be tolerated in other areas, such as adoption, after all.

“Until we untangle unions and religion in this country we will struggle to find a fair arrangement.”

Mr Weatherley said that 2005′s Civil Partnership Act was an “uneasy truce” between religious groups and gay rights campaigners and that lawmakers knew an “inherent inequality” would persist.

Hove, which neighbours Brighton, has a large gay community. The area has one of the highest rates of civil partnerships.

Ministers say they plan to move forward legislation to allow civil partnerships in religious buildings.

However, the amendment in the Equality Act stresses that the choice is down to churches. While the Unitarian Church and the Quakers as well as Liberal and Reform Judaism want to hold ceremonies for gay couples, the Catholic Church and Church of England say they will not.

[11th Commandment]

Remember, GB has does not have a first amendment. Rights are extended from the government. In history, the Monarchy gave rights to the people and overtime, Parliament became the administer. As opposed to the US where all rights come from GOD and government is limited to only the powers that the people give it. (In theory)

[TexasRepublic]

“Please don’t judge us because of Oboma. It was just a fluke.”

I wish you were right. However, Obama’s Presidency is proof that a sizable part of the American voters are brainwashed idiots. America is a demographic and socialist timebomb.

[SECURE AMERICA]

There is no equality between marriage and homo civil unions.
One is normal one is perverted. No amount of law passing will ever change that......

[MrBleep]

The Great in Great Britain is to differentiate Britain from Little Britain... which is an area of land now known as Brittany.

[Jim Scott]

When you deliberately separate traditional, Christian-based morality from the culture of a nation, as most of western Europe has, you get on this kind of slippery slope that leads to disintegration of the host society. Homosexuals, a tiny, tiny minority in any society, have successfully managed to use the false pretense that their behavior is genetically inherent to convince many otherwise reasonable people of their status as an 'oppressed mi8nority'. By doing so, they instantly gained the sympathy of the left. They continually demand 'equality', meaning special dispensations and now, in Jolly Olde England, having the government force churches to 'marry' two people of the same sex, a distinct abomination and, if successful (give it time) yet another large blow to one of the pillars (marriage) that holds a society together. Although this is in the United Kingdom and can be dismissed as just some errant MP seeking a bit of publicity, it will eventually gain some traction and, sooner or later (probably sooner) appear in the U.S. congress, using Britain's example as 'precedent'. I've ceased to believe that such absurdities 'can't happen here' because they can - and do, all too often. Until America returns to being a nation that adheres to Christian principles -not a theocracy- we'll keep sliding down the infamous slippery slope that ultimately leads to destruction.

[Travis McGee]

Another obtuse reader. Sheesh. Does one have to explain EVERY use of English to the irony-disabled?

[sinsofsolarempirefan]

An American having to explain the concept of irony to Brits, now how about that for irony?

[Vanders9]

Heh...yeah ok sorry, but at the same time this particular use of irony is getting well past its sell by date. It seems just about every thread concerning some outlandish activity in the UK will trot out the euphemisms "Britain is no longer great", "Great Britain should be renamed mediocre Britain", "there's no Great left in Britain" etc etc. If we are going to use irony, at least let's have fresh irony.

And there are an awful lot of people (even Brits) who really do think that the Great in "Great Britain" is some kind of prideful and increasingly obsolete assertion of quality. That causes a lot of trouble.

[Vanders9]

Agree 100%.

There are compensations. At this rate Christians will justifiably be able to declare themselves an "oppressed minority", and get all the many priviliges that seem to go with that status in the Western world these days.

[Morpheus2009]

Wow, the word Tory wasn’t good from the study of U.S. History, either way, your British politicians should seriously start watching what’s neccessary to open up a lot more employment in Britain, because frankly they’re currently in deep economic trouble right now.

[FormerLib]

Religious institutions had better stop acting as agents of the state when it comes to performing marriages (ie. the officiating clergy would not sign any marriage documents supplied by the state).

Then it clearly becomes a private religious function outside of the control of the state.

[sinsofsolarempirefan]

‘Tory’ has connotations of bigotry and repression. Very apt for describing this MP. I’d hate for him to be described as a ‘Conservative’ MP, because Conservative values in Britain ought not to be about imposing secular beliefs on a religious institution. Forcing the church to marry gays is like forcing a Jews and Muslims to serve pork sausages to their congregants, IMHO...

[lowbridge]

Bump

[Chandalier]

Main reason they have contempt for the constitution.