Scottish Government Same-Sex Marriage Consultation

Respond to the Scottish Government consultation on the draft Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill by choosing one of the following two options:

Option 1 – Send a model response Fill in your details, add any comments, and then click 'send' to email your consultation response to the Scottish Government. The model response answers the main consultation questions that relate to LGBT equality.

Personal Information

1. Your Name All fields need to be completed.
First Name
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2. Your Address
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3. Permissions
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The Scottish Government would like permission to publish your response. Please indicate your preference:

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Your Consultation Response

I welcome Scottish Government plans to lift the ban on same-sex marriage and hope legislation will be passed soon to give LGBT people equal marriage rights in Scotland.

Question 7 – Religious & belief marriage

I agree with the proposals for authorising religious and belief celebrants who wish to solemnise same-sex marriage. These proposals will protect and extend religious freedom by allowing religious and belief bodies to conduct same-sex marriages if they wish to do so.

Question 8 – Civil Registrars

I agree that there should be no specific opt-out in the bill saying that civil registrars do not have to conduct same-sex marriages. Unlike religious celebrants, civil registrars are carrying out a civil function on behalf of the state and therefore an opt-out on grounds of their personal belief is not appropriate and would set a dangerous precedent.

Question 9 – Freedom of speech

I agree with the freedom of speech guarantee in the bill, and that there is no need for additional new legislation to protect freedom of speech. I call on the Scottish Government to ensure that any new guidance issued does not stigmatise or discriminate against LGBT people.

Question 10 – Education

I believe that education should be inclusive and welcoming to all regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or family situation. All levels of education should be fully inclusive of LGBT people. I believe no school should stigmatise or discriminate against LGBT people. Teachers should not teach that same-sex relationships or same-sex marriage are wrong. Same-sex marriage should not be treated as a controversial issue in schools. Parents should not have a right to opt children out of lessons that mention same-sex relationships or same-sex marriage. Primary schools should not be discouraged from mentioning same-sex relationships or same-sex marriage. Education and employment law should not be changed to enable public servants to discriminate against LGBT people. Any changes to guidance such as Education Circular 2/2001 should seek to promote equality for LGBT people, not stigmatise or discriminate against them.

Question 11 – Fostering

I have concerns about the proposal to amend fostering guidelines and call on the government to ensure that any changes focus on the needs of the child and do not risk placing children in an environment which would not be supportive of an LGBT young person.

Question 17 – Civil Partnership

I disagree with the proposal to maintain the ban on mixed-sex civil partnership. I call on the Scottish Government to ensure full equality by giving mixed-sex couples the same right to have a civil partnership as same-sex couples. Existing civil partners who did not have the option of same-sex marriage should be able to convert their civil partnership to a marriage via a free administrative process if they wish.

Question 18 – Transgender people

I support the aim of ending the requirement for transgender people to end their marriage or civil partnership in order to obtain full gender recognition. The procedure for gender recognition needs more consideration – it should be straightforward and with no additional costs. Existing pension rights should not be affected. Partnership rights should be entirely gender neutral and ensure that all people, regardless of their gender identity or whether they are intersex, can access equal recognition of their relationships.

Other Comments (Please be courteous)

Option 2 – Write your own response

If you want to write your own response to the consultation you can do so using the Scottish Government's consultation response system: https://consult.scotland.gov.uk/family-law/marriagebill/

We strongly advise that you read the Equality Network briefing on the consultation before responding.

You can also read through the full Scottish Government consultation document.

Please note:

You do not have to answer every question; you can answer just one or as many as you want. But you must fill in the Respondent information section.
You can only respond to the consultation ONCE, further submissions will not be accepted.
You can EITHER send a model response OR write your own response, but not both.
If you are responding on behalf of an organisation you cannot use Option 1.
The deadline for responding is 5pm, Wednesday 20 March 2013.
Remember to be courteous - your response will be read by officials.
To contact the Equality Network about this consultation or anything else click here.