The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, along with other senior members of the Conservative Party have come out in support of same-sex marriage. They are uniting under the slogan “Freedom to Marry”.
The move has angered many within the Conservative party, who hold to a traditional view of marriage. Prime Minister David Cameron would like to legalize gay marriage, and allow marriage ceremonies to take place in churches, but also let churches who do not want to conduct same-sex marriages, the right to refuse.
The UK already allows civil partnerships for gay couples, but the group of 19 senior Tories has said, “We recognise that civil partnerships were an important step forward in giving legal recognition to same sex couples. But civil partnerships are not marriages, which express a particular and universally understood commitment.”
Sources within the coalition say that the government is keen to have a bill voted on before Easter next year. Conservative backbenchers are calling for any such vote to be a free vote.