BBC News (UK Politics)
The Church’s traditional doctrine is that marriage is “between one man and one woman”
MPs have backed a bill to legalise gay marriage in England and Wales, including by those religious organisations which want to offer it. But what is behind the proposal, and why are Anglican churches excluded?
What has the government announced?
In its Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Bill – which MPs backed after its second reading in the House of Commons – the government proposes that couples who are the same sex can get married. However, the change will not be forced on religious organisations – they will have to “opt in” to holding ceremonies if they want to hold gay weddings. The bill specifies that the Church of England and Church in Wales would be banned in law from offering same-sex marriages.
How does same-sex marriage differ from civil partnership?
Civil partnership is a legal relationship exclusively for same-sex couples, distinct from marriage.
It offers the same legal treatment as marriage across a range of matters, such as inheritance, pensions provision, life assurance, child maintenance, next of kin and immigration rights.
Opposite-sex couples can opt for a religious or civil marriage ceremony, whereas a same-sex partnership is an exclusively civil procedure.
Couples in civil partnerships will be able to convert their relationships into marriages if they wish – but they will be under no obligation to do so if they would rather retain their civil partnership.
Reaction:
Meanwhile ZJB’s James White in an exclusive with Premier Reuben Meade asked him about Montserrat’s position should the UK impose the new law. The Premier noted that there are some things that would require a change in our Constitution. “if you’re having same sex marriage in Montserrat you’ll have to change the Constitution, because it is felt very strongly that marriage is defined as a union between man and a woman or male and female,”
He further explained, “if there are decisions which we in Montserrat do not wish to abide by then what we simply say to them, you have the power to make the legislation in the UK and hand it down to us but there are some of them which you just will not do because it isn’t part of our social fabric.”
Britain has gone mad, mad, mad
Former Minister of Education, Health, Social Services, Vernon (Auk) now lives in the United Kingdom where he has become politically involved and contested in elections there.
He reacted following the above news with a post of Facebook, presented as follows:
Vernon Auk Jeffers
What happened in Parliament today (The government’s passage of same-sex marriage legislation) is without doubt a burning shame and would go down in history as Britain’s biggest faux pas. David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband are three hereditary rich men who have never done a hard day’s work in their lives have now joined together and sold the souls of Britons to the devil.
How in God’s name can the Christian minded people of Britain could stand idly-by and allow such abomination to become the Law of the Land.
The good people of Ladywood, Birmingham who voted for the Muslim lady, Shabana Mahmood, should march on her office and demand her recall. I am also disappointed in David Lammy and Diane Abbott, two Black Mps, for participating in the encouragement of legal bulling. Black folks of Tottenham Hackney North & Stoke Newington should also march on their offices and demand their recall.
1 Corinthians; Ephesians; Genesis; Matthew; Romans; Leviticus and others have all stated:
“That a man who lay with another man as they would lay with a woman, both of them would have committed an abomination”
If the churches continue to sit on the fence while these three nincompoops destroy the very fabric our society, then they too will have to answer to God.
