Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill

Anybody following my Twitter account today will be in little doubt of my position on the issue of same sex marriage, but on the off-chance you're not familiar with my opinion, here it is: gay people should be allowed to marry each other.

I didn't watch the parliamentary debate on the bill, though. I knew I'd get too angry at the old white men speaking out against love. Frankly, even thinking about it now has me making fists.

There are a few reasons frequently trotted out why gay marriage is a bad idea, but none of them has ever made sense. Let's be honest, if you're wanting to protect the sanctity of marriage, you should probably be looking somewhere else than the Church of England, which was set up specifically so Henry VIII could get divorced. For a second time.

If you think two people getting married could possibly weaken your marriage, then I'd wager your marriage isn't very strong to begin with. If you think marriage is just a vehicle for procreation then do you recommend divorce for couples who don't want or can't have children?

If you think it's an affront against God then I hope you're not wearing blended polyester, have no tattoos, don't cut your hair or shave your beard, haven't eaten a rare steak, and haven't defrauded or lied to anyone - and given their expenses shenanigans, I'd wager that last one's a tough ask for most MPs.

There's no nice way to say this: if you oppose gay marriage, you are wrong. You are a bigot, and no amount of weasel words is going to disguise or excuse your vile discrimination of fellow human beings.

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