UNITED KINGDOM – British prime minister and Conservative Party leader, David Cameron has urged reluctant Conservative Members of Parliament to support gay marriage.
Cameron urged the party to back the move because of its Conservatism, not in spite of it, at his keynote speech at the party conference in Manchester.
In his speech Cameron said, “I stood before a Conservative conference once and I said it shouldn’t matter whether commitment was between a man and a woman, a man and another man or a woman and a woman. You applauded me for that. Five years on, we’re consulting on legalizing gay marriage. And to anyone who has reservations, I say this: Yes, it’s about equality, but it’s also about something else: commitment. Conservatives believe in the ties that bind us; that society is stronger when we make vows to each other and support each other. So I don’t support gay marriage in spite of being a Conservative. I support gay marriage because I am a Conservative.”
Last month, ministers announced that a consultation would be held on how to introduce same-sex marriage before 2015.
