The British government outlined plans on today to allow gay marriage
that have split Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives and raised
fears among religious groups they will be forced to hold same-sex
weddings.
Gay couples may already have civil partnerships but
campaigners say the distinction gives the impression that society
considers gay relationships inferior.
Mr Cameron has stressed he
is a strong backer of gay marriage but does not plan to force his
party's members of parliament to vote in favour of legislation, which
will apply to England and Wales and be introduced by the end of the
current parliament in 2015.
Scotland has separate plans for same-sex
marriage.
Opponents of the measure include the Church of England and several members of Cameron's own party.
"In
each century parliament has acted, sometimes radically, to ensure
marriage reflects our society, to keep it relevant and meaningful,"
culture secretary Maria Miller told parliament.
"For me, extending
marriage to same-sex couples will strengthen, not weaken, this vital
institution, and the response I'm publishing today makes clear that we
will enable same-sex couples to get married through a civil ceremony,"
she said.
"We will also enable those religious organisations who wish to conduct same sex marriages to be able to do so," she added.
However,
she made clear that under the proposals it would remain illegal for
churches belonging to the Church of England to marry gay couples - an
exclusion the established church itself requested.
Other religious
groups, such as Quakers and liberal Jewish groups, could choose to
marry gay people, but under the proposals no individual minister would
be compelled to marry a same-sex couple.
Gay rights group Stonewall
welcomed the legislation.
"We're delighted about the government's
statement today and welcome the promise to legislate for equal marriage
as warmly as on the three previous occasions that this announcement has
been made," said Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill.
"While
we fully respect the point of view of those who oppose the government's
plans, our advice to them remains that if you don't approve of same-sex
marriage, then just make sure you don't get married to someone of the
same sex," he added.
The move to legalise gay marriage comes after
a public consultation on the issue, and is seen by political analysts
as a way for Mr Cameron to broaden the appeal of his centre-right
Conservative Party and burnish its liberal values.
Same-sex
marriage is backed by many prominent Conservatives and the party's
partners in coalition government, the Liberal Democrats, as well as the
opposition Labour Party.
However, the plan has run into strong
opposition from some Conservative MPs on religious grounds and because
of what they say is a lack of a democratic mandate.
Opinion polls on the issue have shown mixed results.
Eleven
other countries have already legalised same-sex marriage.
The US
Supreme Court stepped into the debate for the first time last week by
agreeing to review two challenges to federal and state laws that define
marriage as a union between a man and a woman.