Forb kicks off bid to lead Stland, would have opposed gay marriage | Rters

Contents:

• STTISH PARLIAMENT VOT TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE
• GAY MARRIAGE LAW TO EFFECT STLAND
• CARDAL KEH O'BRIEN GAY WEDDG VOTE LL
• REFERENDUM ON GAY MARRIAGE WOULD BE ‘UN-STTISH, UNFAIR AND A WASTE OF PUBLIC MONEY’, SAY EQUALY MPAIGNERS
• MOSW COURT UPHOLDS 100-YEAR BAN ON GAY PRI EVENTS
• FORB KICKS OFF BID TO LEAD STLAND, WOULD HAVE OPPOSED GAY MARRIAGE
• STTISH LEAR HOPEFUL IN TROUBLE OVER GAY MARRIAGE
• MISTERS NTACTED OVER GAY MARRIAGE MORE THAN STTISH PENNCE REFERENDUM

STTISH PARLIAMENT VOT TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE

Media ptn, Col MacFarlane om Stonewall Stland and Greg Daly om Catholic Voic discs the move on gay marriage by the Sttish betThe Sttish ernment has led out a referendum on the proposed troductn of same-sex Monday, Bra's most senr Roman Catholic cleric, Cardal Keh O'Brien, urged the Sttish ernment to hold a public vote on the proposals.

"'Rabow aln'Gay rights chary Stonewall Stland weled the cisn not to hold a director, Col Macfarlane, said:"While we are disappoted that no cisn was ma today we are pleased that the Sttish ernment has nfirmed that a referendum has been led out.

A man and a woman n opt for a relig or civil marriage ceremony, whereas a same-sex partnership is an exclively civil UK ernment, which is nsultg on changg the stat of civil ceremoni to allow gay and lbian upl England and Wal to get married, wants to make the change by on this storyRelated Inter LksThe BBC is not rponsible for the ntent of external s. LONDON (Rters) - Stland voted overwhelmgly on Tuday to allow same-sex marriag, beg the 17th untry to give the green light to gay marriage spe opposn om s ma church Sttish ernment, which will hold a referendum on pennce om Bra September, said passg the same-sex marriage bill was an important step for equal rights and paved the way for same-sex weddg ceremoni later this move was opposed by the Sttish Catholic Church and the Prbyterian Church of Stland but the law will not pel relig stutns to hold ceremoni on their approval, a vote of 105 to 18 Stland’s volved parliament, follows siar legislatn passed by the Brish parliament last year that allows same-sex marriage England and Wal, wh the first weddgs to take place om March 29. “Marriage is about love, and that has always been at the heart of this issue, ” Neil said a mpaigners said the vote was a tone for lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr equaly Stland and weled the Sttish ernment’s efforts to advance the approval om an expected time ame of 2015.

GAY MARRIAGE LAW TO EFFECT STLAND

“This is a profoundly emotnal moment for many people who grew up a untry where beg gay was still a crimal offence until 1980, ” Tom French, policy ordator for the Equaly Network, said a legislatn to allow same-sex marriage first entered the Sttish parliament for bate June last year spe opposn om church and other relig the law, civil marriage ceremoni n take place any place agreed between the uple and the registrar, other than relig premis. The first same-sex weddgs Stland uld take place October after MSPs voted by a majory of 87 to legalise gay vote, passed by 105 to 18, me after the Sttish parliament voted down several attempts to amend the bill to add extra protectns for relig celebrants who opposed the new amendments were backed by up to 21 MSPs, chiefly Catholic and Baptist churchgoers, but Alex Neil, the Sttish health secretary, argued there were already "robt protectns" for relig anisatns and celebrants. Tom French, policy -ordator for the Equaly Network, said: "This is a profoundly emotnal moment for many people who grew up a untry where beg gay was still a crimal offence until 1980.

Opponents of the measur fear that equali legislatn uld be ed to force public servants such as registrars or schoolteachers to support gay marriage. John Mason, an SNP MSP and Baptist, tabled several amendments to bolster the statutory rights of opponents of same-sex ceremoni, cludg one statg that no one uld be "pelled by any means" to solemnise a gay marriage.

CARDAL KEH O'BRIEN GAY WEDDG VOTE LL

"What is more likely, yet not ls tragic, is that applints wh so-lled tradnal views on marriage will be put off applyg the first place, fearg they will be brand homophobic, " he argument was risted by Jim Eadie, also an SNP MSP. "Speakg as someone who is both gay and adopted, I believe this amendment is both discrimatory and unnecsary bee sgl out beliefs about same-sex marriage of beg worthy of protectn.

REFERENDUM ON GAY MARRIAGE WOULD BE ‘UN-STTISH, UNFAIR AND A WASTE OF PUBLIC MONEY’, SAY EQUALY MPAIGNERS

"There has been a huge change my lifetime, om the btal atmosphere that existed rpect of gay people when I was a teenager and a young man, " he said.

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. "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.

MOSW COURT UPHOLDS 100-YEAR BAN ON GAY PRI EVENTS

"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. 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.

Cardal Keh O'Brien said a vote should be held bee of tense public tert the rights mpaigners said a referendum would be a waste of misters, who favour same-sex marriage, are to announce legislatn this week after their nsultatn rulted 80, 000 upl Stland currently have the optn to enter to civil partnerships and the Holyrood ernment has sisted no part of the relig muny would be forced to hold gay weddgs issue has igned a bate between gay rights supporters and the Catholic Church, which is strongly opposed to same-sex marriage. Cardal O'Brien, lear of the Catholic Church Stland, said the marriage nsultatn received three tim more rpons than the ernment's nsultatn on the pennce referendum, which saw more than 26, 000 people share their ptn, Gay rights mpaigners staged a mock weddg outsi Holyrood last week"Clearly, if is sensible to hold a referendum on pennce, is ccial that we have one on marriage, " he said, addg: "It is the only way the untry n move forward on this issue. PolicsEQUALITY mpaigners have said there should not be a referendum on gay marriage followg lls om Cardal Keh O’Brien.

FORB KICKS OFF BID TO LEAD STLAND, WOULD HAVE OPPOSED GAY MARRIAGE

Attorney Ain O'Neill predicted that a change Sttish marriage law uld see employe sacked for opposg same-sex "marriage, " misters and prits sued for refg to allow ceremoni to take place their church, school children forced to attend homosexual history lsons and upl rejected as foster parents if they oppose the new legislatn. The homosexualist advocy group, Equaly Network, had said the ernment should reject the ll for a referendum bee such a move would “go agast the re prcipl of Stland’s reprentative mocracy. The head of the Catholic Church Stland, Cardal Keh O’Brien, has lled homosexual “marriage” a “grotque subversn of a universally accepted human right” which would “shame the Uned Kgdom the ey of the world.

STTISH LEAR HOPEFUL IN TROUBLE OVER GAY MARRIAGE

The news that the General Assembly of the Church of Stland has voted favour of allowg s misters and ans to celebrate (that is to create), wh s doctr, marriag between same-sex upl will be weled not only by relig people who believe that God treats everyone equally, and by gay people, but also by those of no fah who believe that anisatns as signifint to our natnal life as our natnal church ought to reflect the society which they claim to serve.

In 2009, the General Assembly refed to overturn an Aberen parish’s ll of an openly gay man to be s mister, and 2013 formally thorised kirk ssns to ll lbian or gay misters. Alphonso David, print of the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocy anizatn, slammed the gay marriage ban and said Put is a "threat to the human rights of all.

MISTERS NTACTED OVER GAY MARRIAGE MORE THAN STTISH PENNCE REFERENDUM

After the passage of the measure, dubbed the “gay propaganda law, ” the untry saw an crease anti-LGBTQ vlence, acrdg to a 2014 Human Rights Watch report. Over the past several years, there have also been reports of state-sponsored tentn, vlence and torture agast gay and bisexual men Chechnya, a semi-tonomo Rsian to the weeklong vote, the Rsian LGBTQ Network issued a statement llg to qutn the motiv of the long list of referendum proposals.

Rsian police officers ta a gay rights activist wh his flag durg an attempt to hold a gay pri para Mosw May. Asi om the sentencg of the punk rock band Psy Rt, there was another tertg lg out of Mosw today: A urt upheld the cy's 100-year ban on gay pri events. Acrdg to the BBC, Nikolay Alexeye, Rsia's most proment gay rights activist, challenged the cy uncil's cisn to ban any events that uld be nsired "gay paras" om March 2012 until May 2112.

The BBC adds: "On Friday he said he would go back to the European Court Strasbourg to ph for a regnn that Mosw's ban on gay pri march — past, prent and future — was unjt. "The Mosw cy ernment argu that the gay para would risk g public disorr and that most Mv do not support such an event. RT reports that the Rsian ernment has been nng a mpaign agast "homosexual propaganda.