Majority of MSPs pledge support for same-sex marriage

[alba]

http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/m ... -1-2347427

69 of 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament have pledged to vote in favour of same-sex marriage should the question come up. Only nine are openly opposed.

The end of the article makes me a little pissy, though:

Peter Kearney, spokesman for the Catholic Church, said legislative change on such an important issue should not just be left to politicians.

“For something as fundamental as a change in the legal definition of marriage, which would have enormous ramifications for society, the question must be put to the Scottish public in a referendum,†Kearney said.

The Scottish public is in no position to decide whether or not to allow fellow citizens rights. Look what happened when they put the issue to referendum in California and New York! At least the politicians are receiving emails about and discussing the matter.

[fluttershies]

UKers - I posted the link to the Home Office's survey on the government's equal marriage proposals in Chatter, if anyone is yet to fill it in.

Anyway, it's funny how the public are never consulted on other issues regarding the Catholic church - only when the church thinks the public might agree with it (and I'd imagine the public would agree with the government and not the church).

[alba]

Thanks; I'll have to check it out. I've filled out a survey for the Scottish government (and pestered my MSPs, all but one of whom agree with me; the Tory didn't even bother reading my email), but not the UK one.

Yeah, the Catholic church doesn't like what the politicians are doing, so must consult the people!

[samurai_sarah]

(snip)

The end of the article makes me a little pissy, though:

The Scottish public is in no position to decide whether or not to allow fellow citizens rights. Look what happened when they put the issue to referendum in California and New York! At least the politicians are receiving emails about and discussing the matter.

Ugh to his assertion that there'd be "enormous ramifications for society". The Netherlands have had same-sex civil marriage since 2001. It doesn't seem to have led to the break-down of society, as far as I can tell.

[alba]

Ugh to his assertion that there'd be "enormous ramifications for society". The Netherlands have had same-sex civil marriage since 2001. It doesn't seem to have led to the break-down of society, as far as I can tell.

I know, eh? Especially considering that civil partnerships are already legal, making same-sex marriage legal really won't make any noticeable change for the vast majority of the population; the only people it will affect are the LGBT couples who want to marry.

[Esther]

I highly suspect the Scottish public will come out in favor of gay marriage. That could be wishful thinking on my part, but I really think so. Except for the Catholic Church, which nobody takes more than halfway seriously by this point, Europe does not have the kind of strong, well-funded, anti-gay religious movements the US has.

My country's had gay marriage for almost a decade. Still waiting for civilization to break down.

Suspect it won't happen.

[alba]

I would hope so, Esther. Scotland does tend to be more liberal than the UK as a whole, so if the Tory/Tory-suck-up coalition in Westminster is planning on legalising same-sex marriage the Scottish public is probably fine with it. It's the Wee Frees and the neds I don't trust :P