Guy Brandon Posted: 9 May 2012
Keywords: Sex & Families,
The Coalition for Marriage's (C4M) petition to retain the traditional definition of marriage in the face of the goverment's plans to redefine it has attracted more than 500,000 signatures since it was launched in February.
You can now feed back to the government on its consultation using the web forms provided on the C4M site. Participants are encouraged to engage with the first two questions of the consulation, which deal with the core issue of redefining marriage. The first question asks whether you agree with proposals to redefine marriage to apply to all couples, regardless of gender; the second regards the reasons for your decision.
If you would like to engage with the full consultation, it can be found on the Home Office website. The process includes 16 questions and is estimated to take around 20 minutes.
If a civil partnership is legally equivalent to marriage anyway, and same sex couples live as married anyway, then why not describe them with the same word? Have I missed the point? I'm not sure that legal definitions will hasten or hinder any changes in society that aren't already pervasive.
I have two questions.
1. Is increasing acceptance of homosexuality leading to an increase in homosexual behaviour?
2. Is it true that children are harmed by having same sex parents? A friend who's a social worker tells me there's no evidence it makes any difference to the child's development (sexual or otherwise). A stable, nurturing environment is what counts.
Paul Jones 2 June 2012
Women love a wedding with all the trimmings and social recognition. The consultation comments that the changes will benefit the economy with more money spent on dresses and receptions. Marriage may change but we don't all want to go to the wedding and should not be discriminated against for choosing not to celebrate.
Margaret Coles 17 October 2012