I now pronounce you man and man

If you've watched the news at all in the last few months, (which most of you would have, as poor, unemployed students with nothing better to do), you'll have noticed that there's a big palaver surrounding Scotland at the moment. While I personally feel that they are pilling their issues onto the British government because they're starting to feel a little lonely up there in the north , they have raised one issue which I feel has been avoided more successfully than council tax.

Over recent months, you'll notice that people here, there and everywhere are coming out of the metaphorical closet as being in favour of gay marriage. From Mr David Cameron to Lady Gaga, support for gay marriage is increasingly becoming the progressive modern day cause. While opinion on the subject still remains divided, the Scots have decided to put their feet down and launch a government consultation on gay marriage, which has ultimately, split the coalition. David Cameron tightened his trousers in his happy relationship with Nick Clegg and allowed a free vote on the issue, much to the dismay of the Scottish Church.  

So after a lot of voting and whatnot, Scotland is set to become the first part of the United Kingdom to legalize the same sex marriage through a bill that is soon to be introduced to parliament. YAY! This means that; 

One: Scotland will be breaking out the rainbow flags by 2015 

And two: I now like Scotland a lot more.

A majority of Members of the Scottish parliament have already openly stated that they'll back the bill, so it'll most definitely pass. I'm pretty pleased and happy that the Scottish government have had the ingenious insight to do this. I live in Wales, so I guess my wait goes on. Not that I have a woman lined up to marry just yet.

Anyhow, the reality of this is that humanist celebrants and religious officiates who want to officiate same sex weddings could be marrying gay and lesbian couples by 2015. Although the Scottish Government is thoughtfully intending to include an 'opt out' clause for religions who aren't too fussed on perform these types of marriages, on the part of most people, there is now a very Paul McCartney  'live and let live' attitude in the air.

Interestingly, although unsurprisingly, the legislation has been met with opposition from not only the Catholic Church and the Church of Scotland, but even two - thirds of the Scottish population. On that issue, I have to shower the Scottish with my respect for standing up what they believe in, contrary to whether it's popular or not. American legislators, take note.

The Free Church of Scotland, released a statement on the subject which, when I read, made me a little bit sad. They said that, and I quote, "This is a truly sad day for Scotland, and we urge the Scottish government to reconsider their plans." No offence, but, if you think gay marriage is going to end the world then, err, consult the chart below. At the end of the day, gay marriage will effect homosexuals relationships - not yours.

Now, I have Christian friends. Or rather, I have friends who identify as Christians because being anything else means going without Christmas presents. In light of this, I've decided to respond to an aspect of gay marriage that my friends have brought up on a few occasions.

Let's put it into uncomplicated terms. Why would I, Gemma, an individual who identifies as a Christian, be openly in favour of same sex marriage in the knowledge that  these types of relationships 'displease' God? Why would I identify as both a Christian and a bisexual? Why am I being what The Westboro Baptist Church in America call a 'fag enabler?' BECAUSE I WANT TO.

Personally, I find the whole thing fascinating. There are hundreds upon hundreds of sins listed in the Bible and yet, we have decided to single out homosexuality as the sin that God is most displeased by. As Jesus said in the Bible about homosexuality - "          " . Exactly. NOTHING. We go to the effort and extent to fight against homosexual relationships, to the ridiculous point that we base presidential campaign issues on the subject and feel obliged to legislate same sex marriage. Frankly, I think the fact that the Christian community has alienated us Christians from the LGBT+ community was a big mistake. We could easily have embraced this community and yet, we chose to condemn them at every turn.  

I recently wrote a blog about male feminism which, while possibly causing some controversy, pointed out the fundamental issues of equality. Some argue that the current ban on gay marriage is a question of equality, similar to women having the right to vote or rights for ethnic minorities.  Some have expressed the view that gay marriage would devalue the sanctity of marriage in itself, which, frankly, is just rubbish in my opinion. How on earth could the marriage of two people who love and care for each other deeply be wrong, despite their gender?  I'll admit that gay and lesbian couples are entitled to Civil Partnerships, which are basically a watered down version of marriage, but I don't believe that they consider the beliefs of the couple.

Additionally, married couples are protected by the law - financially, medically etc. Say two people are in a same sex relationship and one was involved in an accident. Their other half would not technically be able to be with them throughout the emergency. Furthermore, most companies don't provide the same policy for same sex couples regarding insurance. Because a Civil Union is 'not marriage', it is therefore not a 'lawful union.' That's the kind of crap that makes me wonder why on earth I happily remain a resident in the UK and keep my mouth shut on this issue.

The fact is that even if the good old Scots hadn't made an example of the rest of the UK by embracing same sex marriage, homosexuality still exists. Whether you are hiding in a cave, surrounded by sketches of pre - historic homosexual relationships, or fifty billion feet in the air, with a gay couple sitting in front, happily jetting off to Barbados for their honeymoon, you can't escape it. So, you might as well deal with it and accept other people's happiness. Just because gay people are so jolly all of the time, doesn't mean that you can rain on their rainbow parade. They just want to be as miserable as you heterosexuals too.