Scotland Passes Gay Marriage Bill

While the Virginia GOP continues to pander to religious extremists and the forces of ignorance and reaction, the Scottish Parliament has enacted a gay marriage bill that will bring same sex marriage   The main opponents of the measure were - as is always the case - religious groups (principally, the Catholic Church and Church of Scotland) that sought to force their religious beliefs on all of Scotland.  Thankfully, the measure passed by a landslide vote.  Weddings will begin on March 29, 2014. Here are highlights from MetroWeekly:

Same-sex couples are celebrating in Scotland as the Scottish Parliament has passed the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill, which legalizes same-sex weddings in the country. It was a landslide victory for the bill, which passed with 105 votes in favor and just 18 against. Ministers of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), who were granted a free vote outwith party lines, further rejected amendments which aimed to include protection for those groups or individuals opposed to same-sex marriage.

Mr Neil called the passing of the bill "a historic day in the history of the Scottish Parliament", while gay rights organizations have similarly lauded its success, including the Equality Network and Stonewall Scotland. Several religious groups have also championed the legislation, with Quakers stating they will allow ceremonies to take place on their premises, while Buddhists and the Pagan Federation have also shown support. 

[F]or those religious groups or celebrants who do not support the bill, there will be no legal repercussions for refusing to conduct ceremonies, with protections against claims of discrimination. Religious groups that do wish to conduct ceremonies are free to do so, with the bill matching the "opt-in" status for religious groups in the Marriage Act which passed in England and Wales last year. 

Incidentally, the first same-sex marriages as a result of that legislation will take place from March 29.  . . . .   any same-sex marriages conducted overseas will be recognized in the country.

Scotland to Legalise Same-Sex Marriages

Despite a campaign of hate and bigotry aged by the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy and some segments of the Anglican Church, Scotland's parliament is poised to introduce and pass legislation which will allow same sex marriages both in church and civil ceremonies.  This circumstances underscores to falsity of America's claim to be the home of liberty and religious freedom when the sad reality is only conservative Christians have full religious freedom in the USA and the fact that they continue to be afforded special rights at the expense of the religious freedom of other citizens.   The Guardian looks at developments in Scotland and the overwhelming support for marriage equality despite the hate-filled efforts of certain church leaders.  Here are some excerpts:

The Scottish government is to introduce new powers to legalise same-sex marriages in churches and in civil ceremonies, despite vigorous and bitter opposition from church leaders.  A draft bill that will enable gay and lesbian couples to marry with the same legal rights as heterosexual couples will be published later this year and is expected to be enacted next year, after Scottish ministers resisted intense pressure from the Catholic church to drop the proposals.

The legislation will include significant new protections and "conscience clauses" for churches and individual clergy who object to gay marriage on religious grounds, said Nicola Sturgeon, the deputy first minister.  But she added that opposition to the bill – which included 64% of the 62,000 responses from within Scotland to the Scottish government's consultation – had not persuaded her to drop or dilute the measures.

"We believe that in a country that aspires to be an equal and tolerant society, as we do in Scotland, then this is the right thing to do," Sturgeon said.

The measures are expected to be passed by Holyrood next year before similar but weaker measures in England and Wales, to allow same-sex marriages in registry offices, are put before Westminster.  Sturgeon said she was confident it would be passed comfortably: all the party leaders at Holyrood supported the measure, and a majority of Scottish National party backbenchers did so. The SNP will give their 67 MSPs a free vote.

[T]he Scottish government's own online consultation document showed a majority in favour of gay marriage: by 65% to 35% against. Major public opinion polls also showed that most Scottish voters supported same-sex marriage, with about two-thirds of Scots in favour.

Again, it saddens me that the promise of religious freedom and equality under the civil laws in America continues to be a farce and a lie.

Scots Archbishop Steps Up Anti-Gay Attacks

The Roman Catholic Church continues o be plagued by sex abuse lawsuits and bombshell stories of cover ups by the Church hierarchy break weekly if not more often. But what does Mario Conti Archbishop of Glasgow obsess about? Gay marriage, of course. The rape and sexual abuse of children and youths - not to mention cover ups tracing to the Vatican - apparently doesn't offend the Archbishop's sensibilities. It's symptomatic, in view, of the utter moral bankruptcy that now permeates the Church hierarchy with very few exceptions (the Archbishop of Dublin ins one such rare example). Conti has declared that the Catholic Church will actively fight against the previously “unthinkable” issue" of government recognized same sex marriage. In my view, if the Catholic Church wants to meddle in the civil laws, then revoke its tax-exempt status. Hit the bastards where it counts. Thankfully, an Episcopal prelate called out the bigoted Catholic bishops. Here are highlights from The Herald:

Mario Conti said the Catholic Church will actively fight against the previously “unthinkable” issue which was being considered in a “largely post-Christian society”.

He also claimed the Scottish Government does not have a mandate to “reconstruct society on ideological grounds”. The Government is holding a consultation on whether same-sex marriage should be introduced. A similar debate is taking place south of the border.

The archbishop made the comments yesterday in a statement being sent to Scotland’s 500 Catholic parishes to encourage parishioners to complete a declaration in defence of marriage. . . . The archbishop’s comments echo those of the Bishop of Paisley, Philip Tartaglia, who last week argued that a same-sex union was not marriage.

Bishop Tartaglia said: “Marriage is uniquely the union of a man and a woman, which, by its very nature, is designed for the mutual good of the spouses and to give the children who may be born of that union a father and a mother. “A same-sex union cannot do that. A same-sex union should not therefore be called marriage.”

However, the Provost of St Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow, the Very Rev Kelvin Holdsworth, branded the men’s comments embarrassing. In his sermon yesterday, the Scottish Episcopal Church clergyman said: “The behaviour of our brothers, the Roman Catholic bishops, in recent days has been so unpleasant and so ill-judged that it risks harming the good influence of the whole Christian community.“To behave as though bishops carry some kind of block vote to Holyrood, to threaten politicians and to decry those who want access to the dignity of marriage as unnatural … to say these things seems to me to go too far.”

Archbishop Conti’s comments come at the time of a serious downturn in relations between the Government and the Catholic Church . . .

A Different Face to Christianity

One of my news search elements turned up an interesting story on efforts in the Church of Scotland to address real social issues. It is a refreshing concept and approach to being Christian and it's 180 degrees in direction from what one sees the professional Christian set doing in the USA where sowing hatred, the condemnation of others, and marketing of bogus snake oil "ministries" or fabricated emergencies - such as "saving marriage" - to enrich organization leaders seems too often to be the norm. Instead of embracing those with power and money, the Church ought to do what Christ focused upon: helping the poor, healing the sick and uplifting those marginalized by society, which in my view should include the LGBT community which for too long has been persecuted by Christians. Here are a few highlights from Glasgow's Sunday Herald:

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Ever since coming to the church in 1995, [Reverend Ian] Gilmore has been passionate about the need to look out from the stained-glass windows and deal with the murkier issues on its doorstep. "The church should be responding to the real needs of the community," he said. "We've taken the initiative with Aids because it is a real issue in the community. When I moved here, drugs were being shared at the foot of Leith Walk."South Leith Church has met the need by playing host to a needle exchange and holding a community event on World Aids Day. It gives out information on the illness at its weekly homeless breakfasts and has contact with local prostitutes.

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At the moment, it is up to each Church of Scotland minister whether a parish tackles such issues. But at next month's General Assembly in Edinburgh, several proposals are being put forward that would require the Kirk to deal with the darker areas of society head on. One report will call for HIV education to be included in the training of all ministers. The convenor of the Kirk's HIV/Aids Project, who wrote the report, said the church needed to be "HIV-competent".

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The Guild's report will call on churches, particularly in urban areas, to take responsibility. "You have churches in the city centre looking for a role," said Twaddle. "It's hard being in an area where no-one lives. So what is your parish? Maybe the brothels and the prostitutes are your parish."

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Guild general secretary Alison Twaddle is keen to show the Kirk operating in the "dark places", not just at "cake sales and coffee mornings". The gutter, with all its social problems, is where the church should be. "I mean, what else are we going to be about?" she said. "The overall theme of our projects is from the Bible. What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love, mercy and to walk humbly with your God. God is biased towards the poor, Jesus was biased towards the poor, so the Church ought to be biased towards the poor and the marginalised."

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This is the kind of Christianity that I believe in - not the perverted and hate-filled version marketed by the Christian Right in America who more closely resemble the Pharisees of the Bible rather than Christ.