How will the Scottish Parliament react?

A BIG thanks to everyone who has lent their support to the campaign so far!

We're on day three and currently our supporters have sent at least 664 emails to our MSPs, we have 450 signatures on our petition, 1015 members in our facebook group, 74 followers on Twitter, and have received many kind messages of support, including from four MSPs who have already agreed to sign the Equal Marriage Pledge.

But how will the political parties represented at Holyrood respond to our campaign?

So far we have had very positive responses from [in order of response]: the Rt. Hon. Lord George Foulkes MSP [Labour, Lothians], Robin Harper MSP [Greens, Lothians], Dr Bill Wilson MSP [SNP, West of Scotland], and Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP [SNP, Lothians] - who have all agreed to sign the Equal Marriage Pledge.

We have also had responses from: Margo MacDonald MSP [Independent, Lothians] who was giving nothing away and will no doubt be looking over our arguments before she makes a decision, Robert Brown MSP [Lib Dem, Glasgow] who was luke-warm though not completely adverse in his response and noted that marriage is traditionally seen as being 'rightly or wrongly' between 'a man and a woman', and two SNP MSPs from the north of Scotland; Dave Thompson MSP [SNP, Highlands and Islands] and Brian Adam MSP [SNP, Aberdeen North], who were both fairly negative about the idea of legalising same-sex marriage and mixed-sex civil partnership:

'Thank you for your email I am always happy to hear from my constituents. I am sorry but I do not share your view. I believe in being fair andsupport equity rather than equality. I believe that as we are not all the same it is difficult to make everyone equal not least because noteveryone wants to be the same. The arguments about equality really ought to be about equity in my view and I try to judge issues on that basis. I recognise that a number of groups in our society were not being treated fairly and have supported measures to be more fair.'

Email from Brian Adam MSP to a supporter, 17th March 2009

'Thank you for your email. Dave Thompson has asked me to reply to say that he is satisfied with the law as it stands and sees no need to make further changes.'

Email from the Office of Dave Thompson MSP to the Equal Marriage Campaign, 18th March 2009

Good to hear that Dave Thompson is satisfied with the current situation [?!] [Perhaps because he's already married?]

So, from the replies so far it the scores on the doors are: Conservatives: 0, Greens: +1, Labour: +1, Lib Dems: -1, SNP: +2 and -2.

It also seems that MSPs in the Lothians Region are probably getting more emails than other MSPs, or they are just more inclined to support the campaign [?].

In terms of party lines and patterns it doesn't seem as though any have formed yet and it's way too early to say anyway. Robert Brown MSP argued in his response that his 'personal view' is that this is:

'...the type of issue which is normally left to the consciences of individual MSPs, not one which is well suited for a manifesto commitment.'

Email from Robert Brown MSP to the Equal Marriage Campaign, 17th March 2009

We respectfully disagree. Having the ban on same-sex marriage and mixed-sex civil partnership lifted should not be an issue that is left up to the individual consciences of MSPs. This is a black and white issue of equality. Same-sex marriage and mixed-sex civil partnership do not hurt anyone. This is an issue that political parties should be taking a lead on.

So, supposing at some stage political parties do take a lead, what might the party response be?

• The Greens - Have been very supportive of LGBT rights in the past and Robin Harper MSP and the Edinburgh Young Greens have already signed up to our Equal Marriage Pledge. We're pretty confident that Patrick Harvie MSP and the broader party will share our views on this issue.
• The Conservatives - It's fair to say that they haven't always been the most supportive party on LGBT rights [what with Section 28 and the voting records of Conservative MPs on LGBT issues]. But, big changes appear to be happening nationally, Conservative Party members have signed our petition, and in Scotland the Conservatives recently voted, and spoke, in favour of hate crime legislation at the stage one debate. Perhaps they will be keen to continue to put their money where their mouth is on LGBT rights?
• Labour - Over the past 12 years Labour have had a pretty good record on LGBT rights. Though along the way some have criticised them for not going far enough, and not being more outspoken about the changes they've implemented so far. It would be difficult for Labour to say no to this next step and risk damaging their record and reputation as a pro-equality party. It would also be difficult to go against those Labour MSPs and activists who are already outspokenly in favour of lifting the ban on same-sex marriage and mixed-sex civil partnership - for instance, George Foulkes MSP who has signed our Equal Marriage Pledge and petition.
• The Lib Dems - We would have assumed that the Lib Dems would have been in full support with us on this issue, as they have been on pretty much every other LGBT rights issue. But Robert Brown's response has now thrown things up in the air a little. Though the majority of Lib Dem MSPs will no doubt be in support of this move as Lib Dem activists have already shown themselves to be.
• SNP - Finally the SNP. The party of government. This campaign offers the SNP a number of opportunities and risks. So far the SNP have been pretty good on LGBT rights. They were keen to show support in the run up to the last elections, with Nicola Sturgeon and other SNP candidates attending LGBT events, and they backed the hate crime legislation at stage one in the Scottish Parliament. Surely they will want to show continued support for equality, and like the other parties this is a campaign which is hard to say no to because there is no legitimate reason for the ban on same-sex marriage or mixed-sex civil partnership [Try and think of one that sounds convincing]. It also provides the SNP with an opportunity to show Scotland standing on its own two feet, leading the way and being a step ahead of Westminster. Yet, the SNP - like Labour - have some key supporters and financial backers that might [might] not be in favour of LGBT rights and equality - such as Brian Souter of Keep the Clause fame.

Any views on how this might pan out? Have you received a response from an MSP?

Let us know: contact@equalmarriage.org.uk

About the Equal Marriage Campaign

The Equal Marriage Campaign is a grass roots movement calling on the Scottish Government to lift the discriminatory ban on same-sex marriage and mixed-sex civil partnership in Scotland.

The Campaign was established by the NUS Scotland LGBT Campaign in March 2009 and is supported by a broad cross section of organisations and individuals throughout Scotland.

As the law stands, section 5(4)(e) of the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 explicitly prohibits marriage from taking place between a same-sex couple, restricting it to mixed-sex partnerships only. In the same way, section 86(1)(a) of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 specifically excludes mixed-sex couples by restricting civil partnerships to same-sex partners only.

The existence of separate and different partnership institutions for same-sex couples and mixed-sex couples represents a form of segregation on the basis of sexual orientation, effectively amounting to one law for lesbian and gay people and a different law for heterosexuals.

The status quo enshrines discrimination at the heart of one of Scotland’s most significant social institutions, and in doing so perpetuates homophobia in society and compounds the notion that same-sex couples are different and by implication inferior to mixed-sex couples.

As was recognised during the civil rights movement in the United States some half a century ago ‘separate but equal’ is not equal at all.

We believe that all loving and committed couples in Scotland should be treated equally under the law and in wider society.

If the Scottish Government chose to create segregated marriage institutions on the basis of any other factor - such as skin colour - there would rightly be an outcry.

Creating separate institutions on the basis of sexual orientation is no less offensive or demeaning.

The current dual system of partnership recognition also discriminates against people who are married or in a civil partnership but wish to seek gender recognition under the terms of the Gender Recognition Act 2004. Because same-sex marriage and mixed-sex civil partnership are currently illegal transgender people are forced to undergo a divorce or dissolve their civil partnership before they can attain legal recognition of the their true gender.

The ban on same-sex marriage also discriminates against those religious and humanist organisations who wish to solemnise same-sex marriages but are currently banned from doing so. Whilst we do not believe that religious organisations should be required to solemnise same-sex marriages unless they have agreed to do so, it should be recognised that some organisations would wish to do this but are currently unfairly prohibited.

This needs to change.

We want a system of equal partnership rights for everyone. Only equal access to partnership rights is good enough, and we challenge anyone to provide a legitimate reason why Scotland should have separate partnership institutions for same-sex and mixed-sex couples.

More than 2500 same-sex couples in Scotland have so far chosen to register a civil partnership. Some of those would have married had marriage been open to them. Other same-sex couples would continue to choose civil partnership, even with same-sex marriage available. Similarly, some mixed-sex couples would like to be able to choose to register a civil partnership. Both forms of partnership registration should be available, as a matter of free choice, to all couples regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

The number of countries around the world that are making a stand for equal marriage rights is growing. Already same-sex marriage has been legalised in the Netherlands (2001), Belgium (2003), Spain (2005), Canada (2005), South Africa (2006), Norway (2009), and in the USA the states of Massachusetts (2003) and Connecticut (2008). Some of these countries also have civil partnership registration, available to mixed-sex and same-sex couples, as an alternative choice to marriage. Many other countries, states and regions are currently considering the legalisation of same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage does not hurt anyone. This is not about undermining the institution of marriage as some have claimed, but rather, it is about celebrating love and treating each other as equals with dignity and respect.

Scotland must make a stand for equality now.

Equal partnership rights are inevitable. There is an unstoppable momentum driving forward full equality and human rights for LGBT people across the world, and Scotland should not be an exception.

We want the Scottish Government to show Scotland to be the progressive and enlightened nation that we all know it to be, by upholding the Scottish Parliament’s founding values of equality, and proudly leading the way in making a stand against this blatant discrimination.