Marriage law in Scotland has undergone a radical change after members of the Scottish Parliament voted to pass the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill.
Under the provisions of the Bill, same sex couples will be able to get married in Scotland for the first time.
The Bill will also introduce a number of other key changes, including:
- putting belief celebrants on the same footing as religious celebrants,
- civil partnerships changing to marriage,
- the authorisation of Church of Scotland deacons to solemnise opposite sex marriage,
- allowing civil marriage ceremonies in any place agreed between the couple and the registrar, other than religious premises, and
- allowing married transgender people to obtain full gender recognition without a requirement to divorce.
As well as introducing new marriage rights, the Bill also provides a high degree of protection for religious bodies and individual celebrants who consider same sex marriage to be contrary to their faith.
Any religious body who wants to perform same sex marriage ceremonies will have to opt in to be able to do so. The Equality Act 2010 will be amended to further protect individual celebrants who do not wish to carry out same-sex marriages but belong to a religious body who has ‘opted-in’ to do so.
“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,” explained Health Secretary Alex Neil, when the Bill was first published.
“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.”
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