Same-Sex Marriage Bill Passes in House of Commons

Via the BBC:  Gay marriage: MPs back legislation

The Commons voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, by 400 to 175, a majority of 225, at the end of a full day’s debate on the bill.

Prime Minister David Cameron has described the move as "an important step forward" that strengthens society.

About 140 Conservative MPs are thought to have voted against the plans.

While it appears that more Conservative MPs may have voted against than for the bill, that the government is a coalition of the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats and that the bill could not have made it to a vote without the agreement of the Conservative Prime Minister and his cabinet (although it looks to me that it would not have come to vote had the LDs not been in the cabinet).

Also:

MPs were given a free vote on the bill, meaning they were not ordered to vote a particular way by party whips.

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Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

  1. Tyrell says:

    England – the once great country.

  2. wr says:

    @Tyrell: Ah, yes, for the good old days, when you could be thrown in jail, your career and life ruined, for the crime of being gay.

    Truly, the world is going to hell.

    Next thing you know they’re going to get rid of the workhouses.

  3. Sejanus says:

    Good news, unfortunately is only applies to England and Wales. We also need Scotland and North Ireland to pass their own same-sex marriage laws in order for marriage equality to be in force in all of Britain. And then there’s also this pesky thing about the Churches of England and Wales being barred from performing same-sex marriages.

  4. Franklin says:

    Buggers, every single one of them!

  5. Budgie93 says:

    @Sejanus: The answer is to disestablish the church.

  6. Sejanus says:

    @Budgie93: Agreed, disestablishing the church and letting them decide on this issue for themselves is the right thing.

  7. Al says:

    Oh no! Even though I can’t tell you in even the vaguest sense how, this will completely destroy marriages all across the country! It will also somehow be a detriment to society in a way that I can’t at all articulate!

  8. Sejanus says:

    @Al: Don’t worry about it. According the God’s current prophet on earth, New York state has already “destroyed marriage”. The Brits are merely shooting at a corpse.

  9. stonetools says:

    Obvoiusly, this means that Albion will soon sink beneath the waves.

    /snark.