Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill

Debate between Steve Reed and Caroline Lucas

Tuesday 5th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Steve Reed (Croydon North) (Lab)]

All hon. Members have had many letters from constituents about the Bill. One I received came from a couple who first met in 1978 and have been in a loving and committed relationship ever since. They are accepted, welcomed and supported as a couple by their friends and family, and they have waited 35 years for the House finally to catch up with what they and their friends already knew: that their same-sex relationship is every bit as valid, important and equal as their straight friends’ relationships.

Over the period of that couple’s relationship, there have been huge changes in how society at large views them and other same-sex couples. I marched in protest 25 years ago when the House passed section 28—legislation that offensively characterised same-sex relationships as “pretend”. The fact that we have a quite different Bill before us today is testament to the power of politics to change minds and build a better society.

I condemned the Conservative Prime Minister who promoted section 28 all those years ago, but today I pay tribute to the Conservative Prime Minister who has provided leadership on this issue. The Bill is also a tribute to the legacy of campaigners such as Michael Cashman and Chris Smith, to numerous socially progressive campaigners in the community, to LGBT people who have suffered hatred and discrimination in their lives because of who they were born, and to the same-sex couples and individuals whose determination to secure equality was driven by the knowledge that the love they experienced in their relationships was no less than anyone else’s love.

[Caroline Lucas]

The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful case against discrimination. Does he agree that one group still discriminated against is the trans community, and that one important outcome of the proposals is that they will make it possible for individuals to change their legal gender under the Gender Recognition Act 2004 without being forced first to end their marriage? That will be a great relief to many trans people in the community.

[Steve Reed]

The hon. Lady makes an excellent point that I am happy to agree with. I hope that changes will be made in due course to reflect that.

The argument that extending marriage to same-sex couples in any way diminishes anyone else’s relationship is spurious. One person’s happiness does not diminish another person’s; rather, it adds to the total sum of human happiness, and surely that is to be welcomed. The measure strengthens rather than weakens marriage by extending it to more people. To those who do not like gay marriage, I say, “Don’t marry someone gay, but please don’t deny that right to loving and committed gay and lesbian couples.”

Equality is indivisible. One cannot be partially equal: either one is equal or one is not. The prize of the Bill will be to build a lasting political consensus in favour of equality. Today, the House must put itself on the right side of public opinion and on the right side of history by recognising in law at last that every person has the fundamental human right to love and to marry whomever they choose.