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The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 (c. 30) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which legalised same-sex marriage in England and Wales. == Background == Civil partnership became legal in the United Kingdom in 2004, allowing same-sex couples and couples of whom one spouse had changed gender to live in legally recognised intimate partnerships similar to marriage, but without permitting them to marry, or describe themselves as married. It also compelled couples to end their marriage if one or both spouses underwent gender change surgery, or if the couple were not recognised in law as having male and female gender. Following the 2010 General Election, in September 2011, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Equalities, Lynne Featherstone, announced that the Government of the United Kingdom would launch a consultation in March 2012 on how to introduce civil marriage for same sex couples in England and Wales. The consultation closed in June 2012 and, in December 2012, the new Minister for Women and Equalities, Maria Miller, announced that the Government would be introducing legislation "within the lifetime of this Parliament" and that they were "working towards this happening within this Parliamentary Session".〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Equal marriage: The Government's response )〕 The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill was introduced into Parliament on 24 January 2013. The leaders of the three main political parties in the United Kingdom gave their MPs a free vote on the legislation, meaning they would not be whipped to vote in favour or against it. The Bill was welcomed by many, including the gay rights campaigning group Stonewall.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Help Stonewall push for Marriage Equality )〕 The organisation Labour Humanists said there was "no credible ethical reason" to oppose gay marriage and Minister for Women and Equalities, Maria Miller, told the House of Commons that the proposals "will strengthen, not weaken" the institution of marriage. Others opposed the Bill. In December 2012, the Right Reverend Mark Davies used his Christmas sermon to link the Bill to how he considered "Nazis and Communists undermined faith". Concerns about the teaching of same sex marriage or same sex relationships in school were highlighted by Minister for Faith Baroness Warsi. The campaign director of lobby group Coalition for Marriage, which opposes same-sex marriage, labelled the legislation "appalling". On 18 May 2013 over 400 leading Muslims, including head teachers and senior representatives of mosques across the country, published an open letter opposing the act on the grounds that "Muslim parents will be robbed of their right to raise their children according to their beliefs, as gay relationships are taught as something normal to their primary-aged children". Some Members of the House of Commons spoke out against the Bill. The Conservative MP for Hendon, Matthew Offord asked if "other forms of marriage, such as polygamy" would be introduced as a result of the same-sex marriage plans, although the Government has said that this "would not be possible".〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Hansard – House of Commons 10 December 2012 )〕 Edward Leigh, Conservative MP for Gainsborough accused the government of attempting to "redefine" marriage and Labour MP Austin Mitchell tweeted that gay marriage was "neither urgent nor important".〔(Austin Mitchell MP: Ed Miliband must allow Labour MPs a free vote on same-sex marriage ) PinkNews〕 The Bill is notable for its "quadruple lock" to safeguard religious organisations from being forced to conduct same sex marriages, however in 2013 the Right Reverend Tim Stevens, Bishop of Leicester has called marriage between a man and a woman "a social institution which predates both church and state" and that what he described as an "absence of overwhelming public consensus for change ought to give pause for thought",〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Anglican responses to Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill )〕 despite the fact that the "quadruple lock" would not permit the Church of England or the Church in Wales to conduct same sex marriages, without expressly confirming that they wished to do so. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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