Sunday, February 13, 2011

Gays Set to Legally Marry in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has been one of the USA's most consistent allies. Now, the UK is poised to make a move towards equality under its civil laws that helps to again underscore the USA's false description of itself as "land of the free" with a guarantee of "freedom of religion" for all. These freedoms, of course, continue to depend on whether or not one is gay or straight - the latter receive equality under the law while the former do not. I applaud the UK's intended move and wish that this nation delivered on the promises it pretends to hold out to its citizens. It is all about freedom of religion and sadly, we do not have it here in the USA. Pink News has this coverage via the Sunday Times:
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In a momentous move for gay rights in the United Kingdom, gay men and women will be able to marry under marriage law reforms set to be announced later this week, according to the Sunday Times. Lynne Featherstone, the Liberal Democrat equalities minister of the coalition Government, will announce the change this week, bringing Britain into line with other nations such as Canada and South Africa as well as European Union members Sweden, the Netherlands and Spain.
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The current law defines marriage as between a man and a woman, but the change in the classification of the union will now include same-sex couples. This will allow gays and lesbians to marry in civic buildings such as registry offices, as well as other traditional settings, . . . .
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[R]eligions, such as the Quakers and liberal branches of Judaism welcome the move, but a spokesperson for the Church of England told Sky News: “Given the Church’s view on the nature of marriage, the House of Bishops has consistently been clear that the Church of England should not provide services of blessing for those who register civil partnerships.
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A Whitehall source told The Sunday Times: "This is not just about gay rights but also about religious freedom. Quakers and liberal Judaism want to do this. Attitudes have changed to gay marriage. We are going to look at what legislative steps we could begin to make gay marriage possible."

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