I dislike David Cameron, but he was right on gay marriage | The Spectator

Contents:

• GAY MARRIAGE LAW TO EFFECT STLAND
• COMG OOT: THE FABULO HISTORY OF GAY STLAND
• ILLEGAL TO BE GAY - STLAND'S HISTORY
• GAY MARRIAGE SCOTLAND
• MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE
• STTISH EPISPAL CHURCH APPROV GAY MARRIAGE
• GAY MARRIAGE STLAND BACKED PRCIPLE BY MSPS
• I DISLIKE DAVID CAMERON, BUT HE WAS RIGHT ON GAY MARRIAGE

GAY MARRIAGE LAW TO EFFECT STLAND

Existg civil partnerships n now be nverted to a marriage and other same-sex upl n give notice of their tentn to new legislatn was ed for the first time shortly after midnight when one uple upgrad their civil partnership at the Brish nsulate first gay weddgs Stland will take place on Hogmanay.

COMG OOT: THE FABULO HISTORY OF GAY STLAND

"Image ptn, Leanne and Marie Banks were one of the first gay upl Stland to bee marriedThe uple earlier said: "We always nsired our civil partnership to be our marriage, but the ey of the law and society wasn't held the same regard. "'Day of celebratn'One of the first gay upl to bee married Stland were Leanne and Marie were at Dune Registrars' office at 08:45 to sign the documents. "Image source, ThkstockImage ptn, The first gay weddgs Stland will take place on 31 DecemberCol Macfarlane, director of Stonewall Stland, said: "Many of the upl celebratg today and the weeks and months ahead have been together for s and a civil partnership sce they were troduced 2005.

"While there is still lots to do before the lived day-to-day experience of many lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr people is tly equal Stland, this is a day of celebratn and we know the ceremoni will be a wonrful early Christmas prent for many upl, their iends and fai.

More than two-thirds of people (68%) agreed that gay upl should have the right to marry, acrdg to the figur om the Social Attus Survey, which tracks public opns on a range of figure par wh jt two-fifths of the public (41%) 2014 survey suggted fewer than a fifth (17%) of Sts were agast same-sex marriage, pared to 29% 2002.

ILLEGAL TO BE GAY - STLAND'S HISTORY

Younger people were more likely to believe gay upl should be allowed to wed than olr Sts, wh 83% of 18 to 24-year-olds favour pared to 44% of those aged 65 and Sttish ernment said the move was the right thg to do, but Stland's two ma church - the Catholic Church and Church of Stland - are legislatn will see relig and belief bodi optg to perform same-sex marriag, and misters have strsed that no part of the relig muny would be forced to hold such ceremoni on this storyRelated Inter LksThe BBC is not rponsible for the ntent of external s.

While clergy will not be required to marry same-sex upl, the move mak the mory who oppose the natnal church’s volvement gay marriage worried about further divisn.

GAY MARRIAGE SCOTLAND

"He says homosexualy was somethg fai, relig stutns, the medil profsn and society at large all chose to source, Elae LivgstoneImage ptn, San (left) and Gerrie Douglas-Stt had Nila Sturgeon and Patrick Harvie as wns at their weddg"Growg up queer post-war Stland is sentially occupyg a social and sexual wilrns, " Dr Meek of male homosexualy had been outlawed for centuri and were ma stricter the late 19th Century but same-sex ntact between women had never been targeted law and was not illegal. "Image source, Equaly Network/Same Love PhotographyImage ptn, Douglas Pretsell and Peter Gloster formalised their marriage SydneyPeople went to prison for sometim two years or were locked up psychiatric 1957, after a succsn of well-known men were nvicted of homosexual offenc, the Wolfenn report remend that "homosexual behavur between nsentg adults private should no longer be a crimal offence". But bee of Jam Adair, homosexualy Stland remaed illegal, classified as crimally-praved source, Getty ImagMany gay Sts had to rign themselv to a life the 1969, a brave group of gay Sts cid they uld not change their sexualy so they set out to change SMG (Sttish Mori Group) arranged diss and get-togethers for gay men and for lbian women.

The SMG started to make money and leased property Broughton Street Edburgh where set up the Gay Informatn Centre and operated a telephone, historian and gay activist Bob Cant says: "I thk the Sttish Mori Group serv an enormo amount of cred. "Thirteen years after the law was reformed England, Labour MP Rob Cook lodged an amendment the Sttish Crimal Jtice Bill and homosexualy was fally crimalised Stland ptn, Leanne and Marie Banks were one of the first gay upl Stland to bee marriedThat saw an explosn of gay culture to the mastream.

"Dpe the study relatg to dg addicts and the figur beg batable, homosexual sex was once aga portrayed as somethg to 1987 Margaret Thatcher's ernment went to war wh the gay source, Tged Memori / Equaly NetworkImage ptn, Joe Schofield (left) and partner Mallm Brown (right) were among the first to marry unr the new lawThe prime mister told the Tory nference: "Children who need to be tght the tradnal moral valu are beg tght that they have an alienable right to be gay. "There was outrage and protts across the untry at this rollg back of the rights of gay people but the law stayed place until the re-tablishment of the Sttish Parliament of s first acts was to repeal Sectn 28 but had a battle on s hands.

MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE

Journalist David Torrance says that spe beg very unpleasant at the time was a "thartic" experience that got Stland talkg about gay rights issu and fally swept away the old the Millennium, Sts attus to homosexualy have changed dramatilly.

Surveys suggt that more than two thirds of Sts actively approve of gay marriage and is now homophobia that is 2005, civil partnerships were ma legal for gay upl and the followg year same-sex upl were able to year, as the Commonwealth Gam was beg shown around the world, Stland clared s new openns wh a kilted gay kiss as part of the openg year end wh gay marriage beg legal Stland and the lear of the Sttish Conservativ, a lbian, passnately supportg the move.

STTISH EPISPAL CHURCH APPROV GAY MARRIAGE

Image source, PAImage ptn, Gay Pri Edburgh 2016Stland pris self on beg one of the most progrsive untri Europe on issu of sexualy and genr inty but for gay men was not always such an open-md place. England and Wal n now mark 50 years sce the historic reforms which partially crimalised homosexualy between two nsentg men private over 21 years of age.

Nick explas his bsh wh the says: "I was so trated and lonely and isolated and all those thgs that sgle people go through, and more so when you feel you're outsi of society, that I did what many gay men have done and that is I ed to e toilets to try to fd some sort of ntact. The Wolfenn Commtee Image ptn, Sir John Wolfenn on the BBC 1957Sir John Wolfenn was asked by the Home Office to form a mtee to advise on how laws around homosexualy might be reformed. Relig groups, legal reprentativ om the home natns, civic lears and legislators all gave evince to the Departmental Commtee on Homosexual Offenc and Prostutn Great Bra fally submted s report 1957.

"So there's also a strong sense that, whether or not gay people are beg apprehend, that actually we fundamentally don't want to publicly state that 's acceptable.

GAY MARRIAGE STLAND BACKED PRCIPLE BY MSPS

" Jam Adair - voice of dissent A Sttish voice who opposed crimalisatn of homosexualy Stland was Jam Adair OBE, a former Procurator Fisl of Glasgow and sat on the Wolfenn mtee and formed the only dissentg voice. 21st Century StlandImage ptn, Marchg at Edburgh's gay pri para 2016Dr Davis says that, MPs such as Rob Cook were fluential motivatg change Stland through the 1970s and 1980s.

However is an unfortable fact that Stland did lag behd other parts of the UK que substantially on s legal posn on homosexualy - a stance which the Sttish ernment now scrib as discrimatn.

"Image source, GPAImage ptn, Police Stland are the top twenty of Stonewall's equali x and march regularly gay pri events StlandThe Sttish ernment has plans to troduce a scheme which would allow some gay men to have historil nvictns, no longer nsired illegal, to be removed om crimal rerds.

I DISLIKE DAVID CAMERON, BUT HE WAS RIGHT ON GAY MARRIAGE

"Progrs still to be maImage ptn, A Stonewall T-shirt worn at Glasgow Pri 2014Stonewall Stland mpaigns for equaly for lbian, gay, bisexual and trans people.

A group of mps led by Ben Bradshaw, a gay Anglin, is lookg at ways to amend the legislatn to allow willg prits and parish to take part, which they argue uld also help boost dwdlg numbers the aisl. Image source, Getty ImagThe Sttish Epispal Church has voted to allow gay upl to marry mak the first major Christian church the UK to allow same-sex vote to amend non law on marriage, removg the stipulatn that is between a man and a woman, was rried by the Synod means that gay Christians om any Anglin Church n now ask to be married a Sttish Epispal who wish to officiate at gay marriag will have to "opt-" church said this meant that those who disagreed wh gay marriage would be protected and not have to act agast their Epispal Church's Bishop of Edburgh, The Right Reverend Dr John Arm, said: "I am very pleased for the upl who n now have their relatnships regnised by the church and blsed by God.

"Media ptn, Sttish Epispal Church allows gay church marriageThe vote to allow same-sex marriage - which required the backg of at least two thirds of each hoe of Bishops, Clergy and Lay - has left the church at odds wh most of the rt of the worldwi Anglin Communn. Only Aberen and Orkney voted agast the source, Getty ImagImage ptn, The Archbishop of Canterbury Jt Welby is the Anglin Communn's spirual headAnalysis by BBC Stland rrponnt John McManThis vote to change non law, openg marriage to same sex upl, isn't jt the latt skirmish the relig war between tradnalist Christians and those of a more liberal will have profound nsequenc, bee the issue of gay relatnships has bee a touchstone for those who believe that the Anglin Church has lost s way, and needs to be Christians who live the global south, where the 80-pl ln Anglin Communn is at s strongt, look wh horror at what they see as mov to legimise gay relatnships and liftyl.