Quote: Originally Posted by Blackleaf
The Queen won't give consent for a gay marriage bill. Not when she's the Supreme Governor of the Church of England and not when her people don't want it. There have been mass protests in France against gay marriage and there will be here should there be any chance of this awful bill becoming law.
Her Majesty the Queen of Canada chose not to exercise her authority to veto the decision of
The Right Honourable Madame Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin P.C., the
Chief Justice of Canada, when she signified royal assent to our own
Civil Marriage Act (in her capacity, at the time, as the
Administrator of Her Majesty's Government for Canada). I somehow doubt that Her Majesty would elect to become quite so activist in a matter such as this. The bill before your Parliament now only seeks to bring the United Kingdom back up to where it should be -- as an example to the rest of the
Commonwealth of Nations as to what proper respect for rights and freedoms is supposed to look like.
Also, Her Majesty would have no reason to stand in the way of this bill, even in Her Majesty's capacity as the
Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The
Marriage Act, 1949, as amended by the proposed
Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, would include under clause 26A(5) an express exclusion for the
Church of England. It is expressly declared, in that clause, that nothing in the religious marriage opt-in section "is to be taken to relate or have any reference to marriages solemnized according to the rites of the Church of England." (
Source)
Quote: Originally Posted by BlackleafPolls show that most people in Britain are against gay marriage. A recent poll by ComRes has shown that seven out of 10 British people believe that marriage should continue to be defined as a lifelong union between a man and a woman, and more than eight out 10 think children have the best chance in life when raised by their biological parents, the ComRes online survey of more than 2,000 people found. The poll also found that people think the state should promote heterosexual marriage.
Again -- no, they don't.
The poll and research that you have cited are out-of-date. This
online survey was conducted on February 23-24, 2012, and was "commissioned by Catholic Voices." This took place before
Her Majesy's Government had even started its consultations on the matter. After more than eleven months, and a fulsome public discussion on the matter, it is clearly apparent that the public opinion on the matter has shifted. (See
here; I thought it might be good to throw in some research that was not "commissioned by Catholic Voices" -- i.e., ComRes.)
Quote: Originally Posted by BlackleafOf course it's biased. We're talking about marriage between gay people, not marriage between normal people.
I think it would be better if I ignored this comment, lest a moderator see fit to have me hanged.
Quote: Originally Posted by BlackleafIt has to be used, We're not talking about legalising marriage in Britain. We're talking about legalising gay marriage.
The United Kingdom is not talking about legalising "gay marriage," you're discussing whether to legalise "same-sex marriage." The term "gay marriage" is abused by conservatives to stir up discomfort with the idea of male-male sexual activity; the idea of lesbian or bisexual women marrying is minimised in the conservative debate so as to ensure the most dramatic possible argument against. This speaks to a whole range of social biases that modern people really should be pushing to move past at this point.
