A petition calling on the Scottish Government to retain the ban on same-sex marriage has come under criticism from equality campaigners for promoting “outdated, inaccurate and homophobic” views.
The petition titled ‘Preserving Marriage’ was submitted to the Scottish Parliament by Amy King, and claims that same-sex couples should not be allowed to get married because of “poor social outcomes for homosexual adults” including “higher rates of domestic violence, suicide, STDs, and mental illness.”
King goes on to argue that, if same-sex marriage is introduced, Scottish society would be subject to “sexual chaos”, arguing that “schools would be expected to promote same-sex marriage” and warning that the proposed change would “clear a path for further social engineering.”
The petition is currently being considered by the Public Petitions Committee of the Scottish Parliament.
In response to the petition, Tom French, Policy Coordinator for the Equality Network said; “The derogatory views expressed in this petition are outdated, inaccurate and homophobic. If similar claims were made on the basis of race they would rightly be condemned as racist, and I have no doubt that most people will find such claims against LGBT people equally appalling.”
“We welcome Scottish Government proposals to lift the ban on same-sex marriage. For us this is a simple issue of love and equality. We believe that loving same-sex couples are entitled to equal treatment under the law and in society.”
The Scottish Government public consultation on same-sex marriage closed on 9 December. Over 70,000 responses were received, making it the biggest consultation since the Scottish Parliament was established in 1999. The Government is expected to announce its intentions once the consultation analysis is published in May.