By Mattew Beil, Staff Writer
Last week lawmakers in the British Parliaments’ House of Commons overwhelmingly passed a bill in support of same sex marriages. In a landslide of 400 for and 175 against, the bill passed and is now awaiting the approval of the House of Lords the second house in British parliament. The bill proposed by the Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron meet with opposition form his own party, with 136 of his constituents opposing the bill, 127 for it, and 35 abstain. But despite The divided Conservative party, the Labour Party and Liberal Democrat vote brought the high majority which was more than ample for the bill to pass.
The Bill passed by the House of Commons would allows same sex couples to marry in both civil and religious services. There are a few stipulations, first the religious organizations which the same sex couple wishes to get married in must agree to same sex unions. Second the Church of England which is the country’s official religion is barred from holding any same sex marriage services. Despite this, the bill will also allow same sex couples in already established civil unions to become married by law.
Should the bill pass in the House of Lords England will become the twelfth country to legalize gay marriage, joining Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Netherlands, Denmark, Iceland, Portugal, Norway, Spain, South Africa, and Sweden. As for the United States though same sex marriages are not recognized by the Federal Government, nine states Washington, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Iowa, New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut allow same sex marriage. Same sex couples can also be married in The District of Columbia. Other states recognize same sex marriages performed in other states; many other however, do not allow same sex marriages or even some civil unions.
The Bill passed by the House of Commons would only apply to England and Wales. There is however a similar bill being prepared to be brought before the Scottish parliament. What is of most interest is that the voting on this bill was done by what is called “open voting” this allowed members of parliament to vote how they felt on the issue, not their party’s position. It is believed that the bill will meet substantial opposition in the House of Lords. The House of Lords it should be noted, is appointed. It has representatives of the Church of England in its ranks that are against the redefinition of marriage, believing that it should remain as their canon states, “one man and one woman”. There is also fear that the redefinition of marriage it might undermine the Church of England. However, should it muddle through the House of Lords and become law the Bill will take effect in 2015.
These changes have come after long fought battles over equal right, with both sides holding strong opinions about wither to allow or not allow same sex marriage. These are deeply rooted issues and should not be taken lightly and it should be said that no one should demonize the other side as they are just up holding their own beliefs.
