JOHN SMEATON, DIRECTOR OF SPUC: MPs must reject government bill vandalising marriage

Thursday, 24 January 2013

MPs must reject government bill vandalising marriage

The government's Marriage (Same Sex Couples) bill will be debated in Parliament on Tuesday 5 February, at '2nd reading' (the first main debate on a bill). The bill was introduced ('tabled') today and the bill's text will be published in full tomorrow (25 Jan.)

Paul Tully, SPUC's general secretary, told the media today:

"Throughout history the core of marriage has always been a life-giving kind of union between man and woman even when no children may result. By replacing authentic marriage with a genderless relationship, the government is vandalising a timeless institution. It is like throwing away the treasures in the National Gallery and putting up copies instead. Same-sex relationships may have some of the outward appearance of a married relationship, but they lack the orientation to conceiving and bearing children which is at the heart of natural marriage.

Marriage as an institution protects children, both born and unborn. Statistics show that unborn children are much safer within marriage than outside marriage. Same-sex marriage represents an attempt to redefine marriage, thus undermining marriage. This undermining lessens the protection for unborn children which true marriage provides.

We call upon MPs not to be distracted by government claims that churches and conscientious objectors to same-sex marriage will be safeguarded under the bill. Both legal opinions and previous rulings suggest that such safeguards are likely to be ruled discriminatory by the courts. The bill is wrong in principle and must be stopped now."

We urge people to contact their MPs immediately to ask them to attend the 2nd reading debate and vote the bill down."

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About Me

I became involved in SPUC after graduating, when I established a branch in south London in 1974. I have worked full-time for SPUC for 42 years. I became chief executive of SPUC in the UK in 1996, having been general secretary since 1978. I was elected vice-president of International Right to Life Federation in 2005. At UN conferences in Cairo, Copenhagen, Beijing, Istanbul and Rome, I helped coordinate more than 150 pro-life/pro-family groups resulting in pro-life victories in Cairo, Istanbul and Rome. I was educated at Salesian College, London, before going to Oxford where I graduated in English Language and Literature. I qualified as a teacher, becoming head of English at a secondary school. I am married to Josephine. We have a grown-up family and we live in north London.