guardian.co.uk,
by Peter Tatchell, Friday 11 May 2012
 |
| Eric Bennett and Trenton Garris hug in a show of support as Barack Obama visits the Paramount Theater after announcing his support for same-sex marriage in Seattle on Thursday. Photograph: Kevin Casey/AP |
President
Obama joins prime minister David Cameron and the new French president, Francois Hollande, in backing same-sex marriage. It's one of the great moral and human
rights crusades of our age – and it's an unstoppable global trend. There is a
growing momentum to end the ban on gay marriage in more and more countries,
from Cuba to Finland, Uruguay, Nepal, Denmark, Brazil, Australia and Colombia.
Obama's
support will have a huge positive impact. It will boost the worldwide campaign
for marriage equality and, through media reporting of his support, raise awareness
of gay marriage among billions of people in every corner of the globe. Even
people living under tyrannical, homophobic regimes will hear the message of gay
equality. It is significant that Obama's change of heart was influenced by the
sacrifices of US lesbian and gay military personnel and by discussions with his
family and friends, including gay White House staffers and gay parents at his
daughters' school. This concurs with existing evidence that people who know a
gay person are more likely to support gay equal rights.
Endorsing
marriage equality was a brave move, given the upcoming presidential elections
and the fierce, powerful opposition he will now face from republicans and
religious conservatives. Ending the ban on gay marriage is likely to be one of
the defining issues of the 2012 White House race. It could be the issue with
which Obama rediscovers his crusading zeal and wins the moral high ground. In
some respects, however, Obama is merely catching up with the historical trend
towards equality. Same-sex couples are already allowed to marry in Canada,
Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Iceland
and South Africa, plus some regions in Mexico and Brazil. Denmark is expected
to legalise gay marriage next month. Within the US, gay marriage laws have been
passed in Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and Washington. A majority of Americans
support equal marriage rights for all.
Obama's
move throws the spotlight back on Cameron and recent wavering in the Tory ranks
on this issue. The UK campaign for marriage equality has been spearheaded by
the Equal Love campaign involving a twin-track strategy, both political and
legal. We've succeeded in persuading the government to legalise gay marriage by
2015, although the prime minister is under pressure from a rump of homophobic
Tory MPs to drop this commitment.
But despite
his pledge of equal marriage rights, Cameron is, thus far, refusing to end the
ban on heterosexual civil partnerships and the ban on religious same-sex
marriages by faith organisations that wish to conduct them. As a back-up plan,
Equal Love has filed a legal case in the European Court of Human Rights. Four
gay couples and four straight couples have applied to overturn Britain's twin
bans on same-sex civil marriages and opposite-sex civil partnerships. They seek
full equality in civil marriage and civil partnership law.
Gay
marriage is all about love. The love of same-sex couples is just as real,
strong and committed as that of married heterosexual men and women. Prohibiting
same-sex marriage devalues and denigrates the love of lesbian and gay partners.
It signifies our continuing second class legal status; to have separate laws
for gay and straight people is a form of sexual apartheid.
In a
democratic society, everyone should be equal before the law. British public
opinion is overwhelmingly in favour of same-sex marriage. A Populus poll in
March 2012 found that 65% of the public agreed that: "Gay couples should
have an equal right to get married, not just to have civil partnerships."
Only 27% disagreed. This represents a steep decline in opposition to marriage
equality.
Public
support for gay marriage is double the support secured by the Tories in last
week's local elections. If Cameron wants to win back lost votes, he should
fast-track legislation for equal marriage rights.
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