Lynne Featherstone directly challenges the role of the Church in the debate over homosexual weddings, saying it does not “own” marriage.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Miss Featherstone says the Government has a right to change the definition of marriage and pledges to challenge those who “want to leave tradition alone”.
Citing the words of the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, who is a prominent opponent of the Coalition’s plans to allow same-sex couples to marry, she insists that how marriage is defined is up to “the people”.
In a direct address to the Christian opponents of the proposed changes, she says: “We understand how strongly some religious groups feel about the issue, which is why we are listening and we want to work with them.
“But there is a range of other views we need to listen to as well.
“I want to urge people not to polarise this debate. This is not a battle between gay rights and religious beliefs. This is about the underlying principles of family, society and personal freedoms.” » | John Bingham, Social Affairs editor | Friday, February 24, 2012
My comment:
One way out of this impasse would be for the UK to adopt a Swiss-style system in which everyone who marries has to marry in what we would call a registry office. That makes them married in the eyes of the law. Then, in Switzerland, if people feel so inclined, they are also entitled to have a second ceremony in a house of worship, making them married in the eyes of God. The former is a legal must; the latter, a preference. If the UK adopted this system, much of this debate would become irrelevant. – © Mark
This comment appears here too.
