Tory MP issues fresh polygamy warning over marriage equality for gays
A Conservative MP for Yorkshire has issued a fresh warning that polygamy could be the result of marriage equality for gays.
Pointing out that civil partnerships offer virtually all the legal
benefits of marriage, MP for Calder Valley Craig Whittaker said equality
would make “marriage adult centred instead of child centred”.
Mr Whittaker said the issue was “incredibly important” and that his
position was not based on that of any faith group but on fear of the
unintended consequences of allowing gay couples to marry.
The warning coincides with the launch of a new feature on the Coalition for Equal Marriage website outlining how MPs are likely to vote on a bill to introduce marriage equality.
Individuals are urged to write in with details of how their local MP
is inclined to vote. As a signatory of the Coalition for Marriage
anti-gay marriage petition, Mr Whittaker’s opposition is already
included.

If gays are allowed to marry, he continued: “What will our successors
be discussing and have to legislate for in the future?; Polygamy?;
Three-way relationships?; Who knows what else?”
Mr Whittaker drew attention to the Dutch trio who entered a
‘samenlevingscontract’ or cohabitation agreement, treating it as a civil
union and commitment to the tripartite relationship. The legal
agreement is primarily used to settle questions of property ownership as
gay couples can marry in the Netherlands.
He added that proposals for fixed-term marriages had been put forward
in Mexico, birth certificates no longer named ‘mothers’ and ‘fathers’
in Spain and in Canada “there are major attempts to legalise polygamy
through the courts using the precedent of same-sex marriage”.
Marriage, he said, “predates the English language and our nation, and
it predates the Christian church. It is as old as the hills, not a
recent invention of society to be refashioned on a political whim.”
“It’s not discriminatory to support traditional marriage. Same-sex
couples may choose to have a civil partnership but I feel that no-one
has the right to redefine marriage for the rest of society.
“It is for these reasons that I feel that I am unable to support
Government proposals on same-sex marriage and will be voting against the
Government on this issue if indeed it comes to a vote.”
As well as filling in the Home Office public consultation on marriage and signing the Coalition for Equal Marriage
petition, which now has nearly 54,000 signatures, PinkNews.co.uk
encourages readers to write to their MPs and meet with them to encourage
their support for an equal marriage bill in Parliament.
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