Earlier this week when it was fresh and new, I signed the petition which is being presented to the Scottish Parliament which urges the Scottish Government to amend the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 to allow two persons of the same sex to register a civil marriage and a religious marriage if the relevant religious body consents.

It is something which directly affects my ministry. The existance of Civil Partnerships has been a big step forward. They have given a whole new set of images to society of what gay people are like. (Before them, the images that were fixed in the public mind were all about gay people’s supposed “lifestyle” of clubbing, drugs and promiscuity – things that straight people apparently don’t indulge in).

However, Civil Partnership is not Marriage and that inequality is discrimination.

Its important – I’ve had people approach me asking me whether I can do a legal ceremony for them and I’ve had to say that though I’d like to, the law doesn’t allow me to do so. Indeed, the current law specifically forbids people from registering Civil Partnerships in church or using any religious expression in their legal ceremony. What that does is imply that gay people can never be as holy as straight people. And the ugly consequences of that kind of prejudice are visible in all kinds of places, not least in the suicide statistics of young men.

There is going to be opposition to the campaign for Equal Marriage. You can see the so called Christian Institute gearing up for battle here. Beware, that link contains their usual lies – including “Family campaigners have warned that any such change would undermine the status of marriage.” I disagree with that. It is a silly argument to make to suggest that people are attempting to erode something valuable simply by asking to have access to it. It seems to me that the opposite is true. By asking for equality, gay people are giving a rather high status to married life.

Anyway, one can sign the petition online on the Scottish Parliament’s dedicated website. It only takes a minute or two. I note with some satisfaction that there are a good proportion of the signatures on it whom I recognise as people connected with St Mary’s. There is room for plenty more names though.

[Note that right as of this moment, the Scottish Parliament’s website seems to be having its troubles – hopefully it will be fixed later in the day]