Former SNP leader Gordon Wilson has warned the Scottish Government its plans for gay marriage could cost it the independence referendum.
In a message to the current administration, the former Dundee East MP said the proposal to let same-sex couples marry in church would ”alienate” voters ahead of the poll.
He was speaking as around 200 protesters descended on the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday to show their opposition to the move, which is the subject of a Government consultation.
He said: ”What if the end product is a wholesale flight by heterosexuals who consider marriage to be tainted? What about the distress caused to married folk by this change?
”If the Scottish Government wants the people of Scotland to vote for independence in a referendum, why is it going out of its way to alienate so many Scots in the Christian and Muslim communities?”
After the protest he said he believes the move would cost the SNP the referendum.
”Independence is far too important to be jeopardised by this sort of peripheral issue,” he said. ”All this is doing is alienating people, and that is not something we should be doing on the eve of a referendum on independence.”
Scotland’s most powerful Catholic, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, and Ann Allen of the Church of Scotland also addressed the crowd and urged the SNP to abandon the plans.
Cardinal O’Brien said Scottish society has become ”blase” about the importance of marriage.
Turning his attention to the SNP, the cardinal said: ”If the Scottish Government attempt to demolish a universally recognised human right they will have forfeited the trust which the nation, including people of all faiths and none, have placed in them and their intolerance will shame Scotland in the eyes of the world.”
Bashir Mann, of the Muslim Council of Scotland, also attended the rally and claimed the same-sex marriage plans would damage the popularity of the SNP Government.
He said: ”These politicians should look forward and have some foresight what will become of the family without the union of a man and woman? I think people will be looking at their political loyalties after this.”
Mr Wilson’s vocal opposition to same-sex marriage has already cost him a top position in the Dundee Citizens Advice Bureau. His bid to be re-elected to the board was blocked by fierce opposition in October, with claims his views were contrary to the organisation’s equal opportunities policy.
Mr Wilson had claimed, in his role as chairman of the Dundee Christian faith group Solas, that same-sex marriage would be a violation of the human rights of traditional married couples.
The Scottish Government launched the consultation in September asking if marriage in Scotland should be allowed for gay people through a civil or religious ceremony.
Currently, same-sex couples can enter a civil partnership, which carries full legal rights, but the ceremony cannot be conducted in a church or other religious premises.
A recent Scottish Social Attitudes survey found more than 60% of people believe same-sex couples should have the right to marry, compared with 19% who disagree.
Ministers and officials have been meeting key groups to discuss the proposals, which would ensure religious organisations do not have to register same-sex marriages against their will.
Photo by Ken Jack/Demotix/PA