Scotland has become the 17th country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage when the vote passed on the Freedom to Marry bill. With the battle surrounding this issue raging on all over the world, one more government has made a decision to support marriage equality.
Originally, the bill was not meant to be voted upon until 2015. The government pushed the vote forward, however, much to the joy of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality activists. The bill marked a landslide victory for marriage equality advocates, with 105 votes for it, and only 18 votes against. Currently, same-sex couples in Scotland are able to enter into civil unions, but marriages will be allowed to occur later this year.
The two largest churches in Scotland, the Scottish Catholic Church and the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, opposed the bill and are unhappy with its approval. This objection is despite the fact that the bill contains protections for religious bodies preventing them from being forced to officiate same-sex marriages if their faith does not approve of them. The protections even go so far as restricting same-sex marriage from being allowed to occur on religious property. Religious institutions in Scotland may opt in if they wish to perform same-sex marriages, however it is not by any means required of them to do so.
- By Robin Syrenne
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