Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill approved

Following the story we posted earlier on the Kiteleys blog on the subject of the chances of same sex marriage becoming legal in the UK, a Bill of approval has since been passed.

The Commons voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, by 400 to 175, a majority of 225, following a full day’s debate; just 35 didn’t use their right to vote.
A true advocate for the change was culture secretary Maria Miller who stated her driving ambition for change; “In the 19th Century, Catholics, Baptists, atheists and many others were only allowed to marry if they did so in an Anglican Church, and in the 20th Century changes were made to recognise married men and married women as equal before the law.”

Her campaign looked to alter the current opinion saying “Parliament should value people equally in the law, and enabling same-sex couples to marry removes the current differentiation and distinction.

This alteration to the Bill seeks to understand that marriage is “an institution with a long history of adaptation and change” Miller continued

On hearing the successful result of her campaign she commented “The depth of feeling, love and commitment is no different between same-sex couples than opposite-sex couples. This Bill enables society to recognize that commitment in the same way, too, through marriage.”

Although it has caused a stir within the Conservative party, MP Cameron has stood his ground on the changes that were necessary to a future evolving England; he said it is “an important step forward” and that the moves “strengthens society.”

The bone of contention before the Bill was passed was whether the Bill wouldn’t contain a “quadruple lock”. This has been defused as the Government has implemented four separate measures to protect the religious freedom of those who do not agree with same-sex marriages on religious grounds.