Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill

Geraint Davies Excerpts

Tuesday 5th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Geraint Davies (Swansea West) (Lab/Co-op)]

I support the Second Reading of the Bill on the basis that it is the fundamental right of all people to have the opportunities and obligations of marriage, irrespective of whether it is between two people of the same sex or different sexes. Marriage bestows a host of benefits that should be equally available to people, whether they are gay or straight. There are practical benefits—for example, people consenting to their married partner having medical treatment abroad.

The Bill opens up the opportunities for civil marriage and enables Churches to go forward as well, if they so wish. A couple of the arguments used against this are red herrings, in particular the issue of the definition of marriage, adultery and consummation. Most divorces are due to unreasonable behaviour, and it is obvious that if a gay partner went off with somebody else or there was no sexual relationship between the partners, that could be construed as unreasonable behaviour, so in practice there is a homosexual version of adultery and consummation. The draftsmen or draftswomen should be able to work that out. The argument is entirely a red herring.

The issue of children has been raised in the Chamber and elsewhere. Clearly, the Bill is not about adoption. The stability of a gay couple and their ability to provide a loving and stable relationship for children is improved, not reduced, by the Bill. Surely it is better for an adopted child to be with a stable couple than with an unstable individual or in a care home.

On equal rights to marriage in one’s own Church, the issue of freedom of religion arises. Whose freedom is it? Is it the freedom of the Church, when the great majority of parishioners want to go forward and ordain women, for instance, or want to allow all couples to get married? Some of these issues are for the Church. When considering in detail the position of the Church in Wales and the Church of England, we should be under no illusion that those Churches are under an obligation to marry all comers. Therefore, when this Bill goes through they will, as an arm of the state, be open to legal challenge in Strasbourg. That involves genuine legal questions that need to be answered. Irrespective of that, the journey that we are taking to create more stable families and a better society will be enhanced by this Bill to bring about equality in marriage.