Organised opposition from groups such as the so-called Coalition for Marriage and the Catholic Church is attempting to gain momentum and media coverage to whip up public frenzy.
We know this campaign will only intensify over the coming weeks and months, making it critical that we ensure the voices of Britain’s 3.7 million gay people are heard above the bigotry and ignorance.
Stonewall has fought long and hard to secure legal equality for gay people. However, it’s a sad fact that as recently as 2010 Lord Tebbit stated:
"We should be utterly, completely and absolutely clear that a civil partnership is not a marriage, cannot be a marriage, never will be a marriage and should be treated entirely separately from marriage."
Stonewall’s latest polling of public attitudes - Living Together (download) – shows that over 70% of Britons and, crucially, 60% of people of faith believe that same-sex couples should now be able to get married. This research helps us challenge the offensive notion that relationships between same-sex couples are not as stable, rich or valid as those between heterosexual couples.
Equal marriage is the final legislative measure for equality – and will help put an end to public mockery of gay relationships. It will send a crystal clear message to the remaining opponents of equality that in 21st century Britain all people truly are equal.
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