On 25 January 2013, the UK government published the Equal Marriage Bill, which will, amongst other things, make it legal for same-sex couples to marry in both civil and religious ceremonies.
Marriages on religious premises will be lawful only if the ‘relevant governing authority’ of the religious organisation has ‘opted in’ to the new system. Church of England communities will not be permitted to ‘opt in’ even if they want to.
The Culture Secretary, Maria Miller stated that the Bill will ensure “equal and fair” treatment of same-sex couples, while providing adequate protection for religious institutions that do not want same-sex weddings to take place on their premises.
The Bill will insert a new provision into the Equality Act 2010 to ensure that that nobody can bring a claim under the Act arguing that they should be allowed to marry on a religious premises where the governing religious authority has not ‘opted in’.
The legislation is likely to provoke strong debate in the House of Commons. MPs will have their first chance to vote on the proposals when the Bill has its second reading in the Commons on 5 February.
Click here to track the progress of the Bill
Click here to read the explanatory notes
Click here to read a UK Human Rights Blog article on the Bill