EXCLUSIVE: Nigel Farage to change Ukip posn on gay marriage and risk alienatg tradnal voters - Mirror Onle

Contents:

• UKIP WOULD NOT OVERTURN GAY MARRIAG
• GAY MARRIAGE: NIGEL FARAGE REF TO SAY 'I DO'
• UKIP E CLEAN ABOUT WHY THEY REALLY OPPOSE GAY MARRIAGE
• GAY MARRIAGE ROW: UKIP PLANS TO RAIL DAVID CAMERON
• UK STORMS ARE DIVE RETRIBUTN FOR GAY MARRIAGE LAWS, SAYS UKIP UNCILLOR
• EXCLUSIVE: NIGEL FARAGE TO CHANGE UKIP POSN ON GAY MARRIAGE AND RISK ALIENATG TRADNAL VOTERS
• LORD TEBB: GAY MARRIAGE, A LBIAN QUEEN – FULL TERVIEW

UKIP WOULD NOT OVERTURN GAY MARRIAG

Ukip has released a mi-manifto for Christians, sayg would extend protectn to those who want to oppose gay marriage bee of their relig document is published on the webs of some ndidat and the electn page of Christian Concern, a group that is agast abortn and same-sex manifto for Christians says Ukip would not seek to reverse gay marriage, even though the party was opposed to beg troduced.

However, would offer special protectn to those who wanted to object to gay marriage or exprs other matters of relig nscience the urse of rryg out their says don’t plan to ‘un-marry’ lovg upl. Photograph: AlamyThis uld clu the Christian owners of a bakery who did not want to bake a Bert and Ernie gay marriage celebratn ke or Christian relatnship unsellor who wanted to unsel only heterosexual manifto says: “We will not repeal the legislatn, as would be grossly unfair and uhil to ‘un-marry’ lovg upl or rtrict further marriag, but we will not require church to marry same-sex upl.

The now former UKIP uncillor David Silvter’s suggtn that there was a lk between legislatn on gay marriage and the current floods ed a great al of discsn about relig beliefs polics, as well as spawng the UkipWeather twter handle. 9% of Conservativ disagreed wh the tted statement: “It is a good thg that gay and lbian upl are able to enter to ‘civil partnership’ and have rights siar to married upl.

GAY MARRIAGE: NIGEL FARAGE REF TO SAY 'I DO'

2% of Conservative supporters agree that gay and lbian upl should be able to marry, pared to 58.

Still, seems UKIP’s opposn to gay marriage chim wh a majory of s supporters and wh many Conservativ. Nigel Farage has changed tack and announced that Ukip would not seek to overturn gay Ukip lear, who warned 2012 that legalisg gay marriage would force some church to nduct ceremoni that are "anathema to them", said his party would accept same-sex marriag if won the general ma his remarks an terview wh PkNews ahead of the formal legalisatn of same-sex marriag on 29 March. "Farage also said that lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr people were wele to jo Ukip.

UKIP E CLEAN ABOUT WHY THEY REALLY OPPOSE GAY MARRIAGE

"Farage's ments mark a signifint change of tack om his attacks on David Cameron over gay marriage 2012. The Ukip lear told the Sunday Polics on BBC1: "If we go for gay marriage we will force many lns of people this untry – many of the black evangelil church, many people the Mlim muny will be forced to a posn where they have to nduct ceremoni that are anathema to them.

Nigel Farage has sistepped attempts to force him to say whether he supports gay marriage, argug would be a matter for the Hoe of Commons to normally opnated Ukip lear appeared to want to avoid g down one si or the other partly due to divisns wh his party's ranks, and fears that whatever posn he adopts will alienate some of his issued a statement to Pk News two weeks ago, thought to have been cleared wh Farage, sayg the party was reviewg s opposn to gay marriage. Speakg on LBC rad, Farage highlighted the dangers of supportg gay marriage while Bra was the EU, sayg was likely the European Unn would force church to hold gay marriage ceremoni agast their said: "We are openg up a very big n of worms here, wh many very big risks.

I n't prejudge what will happen there, but possibly forced to nduct gay marriag those church agast the will of vast majory of churchgoers. "Prsed to expla his posn on gay marriage if Bra were not the EU, Farage said: "I do not support same sex marriag all the while we're unr the spic of the European urt of human rights. "However, he did say he did not believe retrospective legislatn, suggtg any marriag nducted after Saturday would not be clared null and void, the event of gay marriage no longer beg regnised by the was equally evasive when qutned on the issue durg the LBC bate wh Nick Clegg on Wednday.

GAY MARRIAGE ROW: UKIP PLANS TO RAIL DAVID CAMERON

"Ukip prevly said civil partnerships were a "monsense" way for gay and lbian upl to register their mment a formal warned: "Gay marriage is an entirely different thg altogether.

UK STORMS ARE DIVE RETRIBUTN FOR GAY MARRIAGE LAWS, SAYS UKIP UNCILLOR

"Interviewed recently by Pk News, Farage was asked by a rear if Ukip would seek to abolish the marriag of gay and lbian upl entered to after 29 March 2014 s 2015 manifto,. We note that some gay rights activists are already talkg about takg legal actn Strasbourg to force this issue.

UKIP's opposn to gay marriage is not for pragmatic reasons, but is based on outdated bigotry. First his party ma an apparent U-turn over s earlier opposn to gay marriage when, durg a qutn and answer ssn wh Pk News, a statement attributed to Farage said that the party would not, after all, mpaign to abolish same-sex marriage. Farage went on to say that UKIP’s opposn to gay marriage was two fold:.

“Sendly we were ncerned that bee of the role of the European Court of Human Rights Brish law that fah muni which had strong objectns were at risk of beg forced to nduct gay marriag. So on the one hand UKIP are opposed to gay marriage bee ’s a bad time to foc on (there are more important issu), and on the other hand bee “fah muni” risk beg “forced to nduct gay marriage”. In other words, UKIP oppos gay marriage for practil rather than moral reasons (not that that’s OK or anythg).

EXCLUSIVE: NIGEL FARAGE TO CHANGE UKIP POSN ON GAY MARRIAGE AND RISK ALIENATG TRADNAL VOTERS

But someone ought perhaps to tell UKIP Wal this, for their objectns to gay marriage are rather different.

Don’t vote UKIP if you’re a gay uple and want to get married.

The Conservativ' turmoil over David Cameron's plans for gay marriage has been pound after Ukip pledged to explo their divisns and go after the vot of Tori who abandon the party over the signs that Conservative associatns are losg members their drov over what is beg dubbed the prime mister's "clse IV moment", the Ukip lear, Nigel Farage, warned that gay marriage uld "rip apart" the Conservative party. He plans to put the issue at the heart of Ukip's mpaign for the 2014 European parliamentary ernment set out s plans on Tuday to troduce gay marriage by 2014. It also tried to appease more than 100 Tory MPs planng to vote agast the legislatn by outlg a new "quadple lock" that will make illegal for gay marriage ceremoni to be nducted by the Church of England and the Church relig anisatns will be able to "opt " to holdg the law will also state that no one n be prosecuted for preachg the belief that marriage n be between a man and a woman a statement to MPs, the culture secretary and equali mister, Maria Miller, said: "Bee the church of England and Wal have explicly stated that they do not wish to nduct same-sex marriage, the legislatn will explicly state that would be illegal for the church of England and Wal to marry same-sex upl.

LORD TEBB: GAY MARRIAGE, A LBIAN QUEEN – FULL TERVIEW

While Ukip wholly rpects the rights of gay people to have civil partnerships, we feel the prime mister's proposals will prent an afont to lns of people this untry for whom this will be the fal divisn between cy and ral is absolutely huge. "Farage believ the gay marriage issue will serve his party well by highlightg the impact of the European urt of human rights on Bra and by showg Ukip n rally support around a touchstone issue.