UK - Government should not stand in way of homosexuals marrying in church, say Tories

[tjwmason]

Government should not stand in the way of religious organisations that wish to allow homosexuals to marry in church, the Conservatives have suggested.

By Rosa Prince and Alex Spillius
Published: 8:00AM GMT 18 Feb 2010

Nick Herbert, the front bencher and first homosexual man to be selected to become a Tory MP, said that the Conservatives were sympathetic to churches, such as the Quakers, who wanted to offer homosexual couples religious wedding ceremonies but were currently barred by law from doing so.

Party insiders said that the Conservatives were sympathetic to churches, such as the Quakers, who wanted to offer homosexual couples religious wedding ceremonies but were currently banned from doing so.

Some homosexuals are also angry at laws which bar them from describing their civil partnership commitment ceremonies as a “marriage”.

In a speech in at the Cato Institute, an American libertarian think tank based in Washington DC, Mr Herbert said that under a Conservative government, homosexuals would be encouraged to form lasting relationships and adopt children.

Insisting that the party had ended its traditional ‘hostility’ to same-sex couples, he said that there was a “definite change” in the Tories’ attitude to gay people.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/7257710/Government-should-not-stand-in-way-of-homosexuals-marrying-in-church-say-Tories.html

This from the party which banned teachers from even mentioning LGBT back in the 1980s. We've yet to see for sure whether it's a genuine change, but if so it's quite remarkable.

The Tories are likely to be the governing party before the end of the year, and the spokesman mentioned (Nick Herbert) will be in the Cabinet.

[dmallind]

1. And yet another exhibit for why UK Conservatives are in no way equivalent to US ones. NT.