Legislation to allow same-sex couples to get married has been published.
The Scottish Government has brought forward proposals at the same time as ministers launched a review of whether civil partnerships, currently only available to gay couples, should be opened up to mixed-sex couples.
Health Secretary Alex Neil said the publication of the same-sex marriage legislation marked “an historic moment for Scotland and for equal rights in our country”.
The Scottish Government proposals also aim to protect the rights of religious celebrants and groups who are opposed to allowing gay couples to wed.
Under the plans religious bodies would have to opt in to perform same sex-marriage ceremonies. If a religious group does decide do this, protection will also be offered to individual celebrants who feel it would go against their faith to carry out gay weddings.
“We are striving to create a Scotland that is fairer and more tolerant, where everyone is treated equally. That is why we believe that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry,” Mr Neil said.
“A marriage is about love, not gender. And that is the guiding principle at the heart of this Bill.
“At the same time, we also want to protect freedom of speech and religion, and that’s what the Bill sets out to do. That is why it will be up to the religious body or individual celebrant to decide if they want to perform same sex marriages and there will be no obligation to opt in.”
A spokesman for the Free Church of Scotland hit out the Bill.
“This is another step in the destruction of marriage as well as parenthood, and the Scottish Government is essentially legitimising and encouraging the existence of fatherless or motherless children,” he said.
“The politicians and celebrities are leading us down an irrational and immoral road, the consequences of which they do not yet know.”
Rev David Robertson, Free Church minister in Dundee and director of the Solas Centre for Public Christianity, called on MSPs to “swim against the tide of elitist dogma and opinion and actually stand up for the interests of their constituents” on the issue.
“The Scottish Government is rushing into a major social change without thinking through the consequences,” he said.”As Alex Neil admitted to me in the Scottish Parliament, this is not a top ten issue for the man in the street, so why is the Scottish Government so determined to push it through?”For more reaction, see Friday’s Courier.