Clifton-Brown votes against gay marriage (From Cotswold Journal)

Clifton-Brown votes against gay marriage

8:00am Sunday 10th February 2013 in News

COTSWOLD MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown defied Prime Minister David Cameron and voted against introducing gay marriage.

Mr Clifton-Brown was one of 136 Conservative MPs who voted against the Bill in the House of Commons on Tuesday evening, despite the Prime Minister urging them to support it.

The Bill was passed by 400 to 175 – a majority of 225 – and will now go to a committee in the House of Commons which will be charged with scrutinising it and can make amendments.

But Mr Clifton-Brown said was fulfilling the pledge he had made to the hundreds of constituents who have written to him while only a handful of constituents had written in support.

He said: “I fully support same sex couples to participate in civil ceremonies, which give them all of the rights and privileges that married couples have.

“However, I believe that marriage, whether it be civil or religious, is different because it is between a husband and a wife mainly with the aim of having children.

“Although I fully respect all of those who hold this view very strongly, Parliament has now voted to allow same-sex marriage to proceed and it remains to be seen what unexpected consequences that it will cause.”

The Bill specifies that the Church of England will be banned from offering samesex marriages but allows any other religious groups to “opt in” and hold one.

Worcestershire MPs showed they had differing views on the matter with Worcester MP Robin Walker and Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff voting in favour of it, West Worcestershire’s Harriett Baldwin abstaining and Wyre Forest representative Mark Garnier voting against it.