This evening (20 November 2013) the Scottish Parliament has been holding a crucial debate and vote on Scotland’s equal marriage legislation.

The stage one vote on the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill is in many respects the most crucial vote because it will reveal for the first time whether a majority of MSPs will vote to introduce equal marriage, or whether they will reject the Bill and deny LGBT people equal rights. Supporters said in advance that a strong vote at stage one would mean the Bill will almost certainly pass into law.

In the event Parliament passed the first reading of the Marriage Equality Bill by 98 votes to 15 with five abstentions.

The Equality Network, the Scottish LGBT equality charity that runs the Equal Marriage campaign, held a final push rally outside the Scottish Parliament this afternoon to send a message to MSPs as they decide how to vote. The charity will be joined by supporters, same-sex couples, faith leaders, and leading MSPs from across the political parties.

Tom French, Policy Coordinator for the Equality Network, said earlier: “Today the Scottish Parliament has the historic opportunity to stand up for a fairer and more equal Scotland by voting for this milestone legislation. As the polls show, the large majority of people in Scotland believe it’s time LGBT people had full equality, including the right to marry the person they love. We urge MSPs to get behind this Bill, which will remove discrimination from the law and send out an important message about the kind of country we are.”

Earlier this month, the Scottish Parliament’s Equal Opportunities Committee published its report into the Bill, and recommended that MSPs vote for it at stage one. If the Bill passes this key hurdle it will then go back to the Committee who will consider amendments before MSPs vote on whether to pass the final version of the Bill at stage three early in 2014.

Opinion polls have shown consistent public support for same-sex marriage across Scotland. The most recent poll was conducted in June 2012 by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Equality Network. It showed record support with 64 per cent of Scots in favour of same-sex marriage, and just 26 per cent opposed. Separate polls conducted over the past three years by Populus, YouGov, Angus Reid, and the independent Scottish Social Attitudes Survey, have all shown similar levels of support.

The Equality Network point out that equal marriage is fast becoming an international norm. Most countries around Scotland already have same-sex marriage, including Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain and Portugal. The UK parliament passed same-sex marriage legislation for England and Wales earlier this year, and Ireland has announced it will hold a vote in 2015.

The Equality Network launched Equal Marriage, the UK’s first major campaign for same-sex marriage in 2008. In the past fortnight the charity has distributed a new booklet to MSPs which sets out the case for passing the Bill, while its supporters have sent over 15,000 emails to their MSPs urging a change in the law.

[Ekk/3]