Gay marriage will strengthen society by allowing couples to make vows to love, honour and cherish one another, Theresa May will say today as she launches a consultation on same-sex civil weddings.
The Home Secretary will say that marriage should be for everyone and that the State should no longer perpetuate discrimination against gay people by barring them from marrying. She will also make clear that the Government is to press ahead with its gay marriage plans despite opposition from Anglican and Roman Catholic church leaders.
Writing in The Times, she says: “Our proposals are motivated by the desire to strengthen our society by extending the right to marry.
“Marriage is one of the most important institutions we have. It binds us together, brings stability and makes us stronger. So I don’t believe the State should stop people getting married unless there are very good reasons – and being gay isn’t one of them.”
In her most personal observations since becoming Home Secretary, she says: “I don’t usually talk about my own faith. In British politics we tend to feel uncomfortable about that sort of thing.
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“But as an Anglican who attends church each Sunday, and as someone whose father was a vicar, I understand the Church of England. That’s why I want to emphasise that this has nothing to do with telling the Church — or any religious group — what to do.”
Church leaders fear that once gay civil marriages are allowed it will only be a matter of time before they are challenged to allow gay marriages in church.
Mrs May says: “I want to be absolutely clear that we do not propose to touch religious marriage in any way. We are talking about civil marriage ceremonies – the sort currently conducted in register offices, country houses and hotels. Civil marriages can’t happen inside a church now and they won’t under the proposals we are launching today.”
The consultation paper will ask the public whether they agree with the Government’s proposals on how gay marriages should be introduced. It will outline plans to allow gay couples to upgrade their civil partnership to a same-sex marriage as well as asking whether civil partnerships should continue once gay civil marriage is introduced.
The consultation will last for three months but there is little doubt that gay marriage will be introduced given the strong backing it has received from the Prime Minister and Mrs May.