<p><strong>Adam Wagner</strong>: Deputy lear of the Liberal Democrats' ments on gay marriage may be the end of a long and tortuo road for mpaigners</p>
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WHERE EUROPE STANDS ON GAY MARRIAGE AND CIVIL UNNS
Explore the latt YouGov pollg, survey rults and articl about Gay marriage. * support for gay marriage uk *
More than 18 years after the Netherlands beme the world’s first untry to legalize same-sex marriage, Northern Ireland has bee the latt European jurisdictn to allow gays and lbians to marry.
Northern Ireland is the 18th European jurisdictn to legalize gay marriage.
The Czech Republic is the only untry out of 19 surveyed Central and Eastern Europe where a majory of adults (65%) support gay marriage. The puty lear of the Liberal Democrats has said that gay upl are likely to ga full rights to marriage unr the current Parliament. This would reprent a revolutn for gay rights, but there is still a long way to go before same-sex upl achieve full rights to marriage as they are arguably entled to unr human rights Hugh MP has told, a qutn and answer webse, that Liberal Democrat MPs would be nsulted on the rights of gay upl.
HAS THE TIME E FOR GAY MARRIAGE THE UK?
He said "I don't know the answer bee we haven't had the discsn", but that "I see absolutely no reason why we shouldn't all be able to support what Nick Clegg said, which is that would be appropriate Bra 2010-11 for there to be the abily to have civil marriage for straight people and gay people equally. As a mentator on Pk News put , they "were a fantastic tone for gays and lbians but is clear now they are not good enough. Ined, the urts have recent tim sought to enforce gay rights.
As Lord Rodger said a recent Supreme Court judgment, which cricised the Government's policy of sendg back gay asylum seekers to stat where they would be persecuted, "gay men are to be as ee as their straight equivalents the society ncerned to live their liv the way that is natural to them as gay men" (he also pated an tertg picture of gay life Bra volvg Kylie ncerts and exotic cktails) is unlikely, however, that judg n be relied upon to step up on this issue light of the recent judgment of the European Court of Human Rights Schalk and Kopf v. Clearly, the European Court of Human Rights nsirs that gay marriage falls wh the 'marg of appreciatn' which stat sometim have to set their own policy agenda relatn to ntroversial social if a challenge to the existg law on human rights grounds did succeed the UK urts, the ernment would not be bound to change the law.
On a ntroversial issue such as gay marriage, the backg of Parliament will be sential to change the stat quo; any se the Supreme Court particular is unlikely to be willg to place self the polil limelight as s US equivalent has done by makg ntroversial cisns on social will of ParliamentSo will Parliament, and specifilly the aln ernment, seek to alter the law? However, a roadblock to reform may ultimately e om relig thori, many of whom are agast full gay marriage. Lynne Featherstone, the Equali mister, has said an answer to a Parliamentary qutn that gay upl uld now e "relig readgs, mic and symbols" civil partnership ceremoni, further dissolvg the already tenuo distctn between civil marriage and civil aln ernment is clearly ncerned over the reactn to potential reforms om the relig muny, and is seekg to volve them any future cisns.