A COUNCIL has been urged to ‘come out’ in support of equal marriage.
Two Calderdale councillors have asked their colleagues to say ‘I do’ to equal rights by submitting a motion to lobby local MPs to vote in favour in any Parliamentary vote supporting the equal marriage rights for all.
Clr Simon Young says lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples should have the same rights to marry as heterosexual couples.
He is calling on his fellow councillors to back the motion to urge MPs to bring any proposed legislation to a reality.
He’s supported by his Labour Party colleague, Clr Jayne Booth, and they will present a motion to the full council meeting next Wednesday.
Clr Young says: “We’ve made huge progress in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, but there much more to do.
“At the moment same-sex couples aren’t able to get married, but are instead able to enter into a civil partnership.
“It’s true that this allows for largely the same level of legal rights and responsibilities as marriage, but it does not carry the same social significance and cannot be described as equality.
“Whether you’re gay or straight we should all be able to signify our commitment and our love with the term marriage.”
The motion acknowledges the positive efforts already made to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, which includes adoption rights for same-sex couples, fertility treatment rights and the introduction of civil partnerships for same-sex couples.
But the councillors believe more can be achieved.
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