The following is a guest post by Ben Rawlings, Prosperity Officer – British Embassy, Lima.
Marriage is an important institution in the UK. The principles of long-term commitment and responsibility that underpin it are part of what binds society together. But marriage is not static; it has always been an evolving institution. In the 20th century for example the law was changed so that married men and married women were recognised as equals.
Adapting to changes in society has allowed marriage to remain a strong and valued institution.
On Tuesday 5 February 2013 the UK’s House of Commons continued this tradition, voting in favour of same-sex marriage by 400 votes to 175. This was the first step towards delivering the UK Government’s commitment to open up marriage to same-sex couples; another step in its evolution that it considers will strengthen marriage as an institution and help ensure that it remains a building block of society.
This evolution isn’t only a UK trend: since the Netherlands first approved same-sex marriage in 2000 over 10 countries including Spain, Portugal, Denmark, and Argentina, and states in Mexico, Brazil and the US, have legalised same-sex marriage.
But equality also has to be applied equally and fairly – promoting one group’s rights cannot come at the expense of another’s. The diversity of our faiths and the tolerance of other people’s beliefs is something which we are rightly proud of in Britain.
Some religious groups were worried that a change in the law would affect their freedom of belief and conscience. Other religious groups were keen to be allowed to marry people of the same sex in their churches and places of worship. The consultation process ensured these views were listened to, and the proposed law protects the rights of individual religious institutions to decide whether they want to conduct same-sex marriages or not.
So as well as promoting marriage equality and the rights of LGBT people, the new law would also allow for freedom of religious conscience.
Having been approved by Members of Parliament, the proposed law will now go through a Parliamentary Committee and will be subject to rigorous scrutiny and approval by both chambers of the British Parliament before it becomes law.
There have been strong views on both sides of the argument, but the British government considers that the historic vote on 5 February should be a step forward in promoting a society that is freer, fairer and more tolerant.
Further information (in English)