The vote in the House of Commons yesterday (May 21st) to allow gay marriage in England and Wales means that the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill can now go before the House of Lords.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who pushed for the bill to go through despite opposition from within his own party, now hopes that it can become law soon, with the first ceremonies taking place by next summer.
Activists against same sex marriage within the Conservative party had tabled a ‘wrecking’ amendment, but that was defeated by 375 to 70 votes with help from Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs.
More than 53,000 civil partnership ceremonies have been conducted since they became legal in December 2005. People already in such unions would not see them annulled or lose their existing rights, but abolition would mean gay couples would not be able to enter them in future.
In order to offer same-sex weddings, religious organisations would have to “opt-in”, although the Church of England and Church in Wales are banned in law from doing so.
Meanwhile, the debate in the House of Lords is likely to be as stormy as the one in the Commons yesterday, with Lord Tebbit commenting that legalising gay marriage could lead to a man marrying his son to avoid inheritance tax.
Accusing Downing Street of forcing the legislation through with little thought, the Tory Peer said recently that he could understand why many people vote for UKIP and has also criticised ministers for ending male primogeniture in the royal succession.
However, Mr Cameron said that he stands by his policies on Europe and same-sex marriage, which have faced strong criticism within the Conservative Party.
Interviewed by the Today programme’s James Naughtie, the Prime Minister said he was “very proud” of legislation allowing gay marriage, although he acknowledged that it had been “divisive”.