British lawmakers vote in favor of gay marriage bill championed by PM David Cameron
In this Dec. 19, 2005 file photo, Henry Edmont Cane, left, and partner Christopher Patrick Flanaghan kiss outisde Belfast, City Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland. The couple became the first male couple to win legal recognition for their partnership under a British civil partnership law. Prime Minister David Cameron and senior British officials threw their weight behind gay marriage Feb. 5, 2013, reiterating their support of a proposed bill hours ahead of a key Parliament vote on the divisive topic. / File,AP Photo/Peter Morrison
LONDON British lawmakers on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage championed by Prime Minister David Cameron, despite strong opposition from within his Conservative Party.
In a first House of Commons vote, lawmakers voted 400 to 175 in support of the legislation. There was majority support from the left-leaning Labour Party and Liberal Democrats party, but around half of the Conservative lawmakers rejected the proposals or abstained.
The bill will have to go through more detailed parliamentary debates and a vote in the House of Lords, where a vote in favor is likely given the strong support Tuesday. If it becomes law, the proposed bill would enable same-sex couples to get married in both civil and religious ceremonies, provided that the religious institution consents.
The bill would also allow couples who had previously entered into civil partnerships to convert their relationship into a marriage.
Earlier, Cameron - who did not attend a Parliament debate ahead of the vote - said passing the bill is "an important step forward" for Britain.
"I am a strong believer in marriage. It helps people commit to each other and I think it is right that gay people should be able to get married too," he said. "This is, yes, about equality. But it is also about making our society stronger."
Officials have stressed that all religious organizations can decide for themselves if they want to "opt in" to holding gay weddings. However, the Church of England, the country's official faith, is barred from performing such ceremonies.
That provision aims to ensure that the Church, which opposes gay marriage, is protected from legal claims that as the official state religion it must marry anyone who requests it.
Currently same-sex couples only have the option of a civil partnership, which offers the same legal rights and protections on issues such as inheritance, pensions, and child maintenance.
Supporters say that gay relationships should be treated exactly the same way as heterosexual ones, but critics worry that the proposals would change long-standing views about the meaning of marriage. Some Conservatives also fear the proposals would cost the party a significant number of votes in the next election.
"Marriage is the union between a man and a woman, has been historically, remains so. It is Alice in Wonderland territory, Orwellian almost, for any government of any political persuasion to seek to come along and try to re-write the lexicon," Conservative lawmaker Roger Gale said.
If passed, the bill's provisions would come into effect in 2015. They apply only to England and Wales - there are no plans for similar legislation in Northern Ireland. Scotland is considering introducing a similar bill.
CBS Radio's Vicki Barker reports from London that Tony and Barry Drewett-Barlow have been in a civil partnership for seven years. They are devout Christians who want a Christian wedding.
"For Barry and I it's about being able to stand up in front of the altar in our local church and say our vows," Tony said, "not only to each other and in law, but also in the eyes of God -- and that's a really important step."
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Must be tough being you - unable to perceive the obvious and all....
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Actually, fertility rates tend to go up following pro-gay legislation.
The only thing that gay marriage will do is promote the idea, among young people who are at the height of their reproductive years, "hey, this domestic stuff is actually kind of cool."
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Choke on it.
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The genuinely stupid always have a hard time distinguishing between what's a crime (pedophilia, beastiality, necrophelia) and that which is not (homosexuality).
You obviously do not.
The early Christians were really too busy with more serious matters to bother the gay people, and they really did not give a hoot in Hell either way about sodomy, in actual practice.
The persecution came later, namely under those emperors of Rome who were bore chief responsibility for Rome's decline.
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You on the other hand prefer the gay-hate approach, apparently.