The Scottish Parliament made history yesterday when it
voted by a margin of 105 – 18 to legalise same-sex marriage. This was an
overwhelming victory for gay rights advocates and a humiliating defeat for the
homophobes. This means that Northern Ireland is now the only UK country to not have
legal same-sex marriage. Unfortunately due to the opposition of Unionists, this
will not be changed through the legislative process anytime soon.
So where will gay rights activists succeed next? At the
moment there are bills pending or proposed in 23 countries that would establish
some sort of gay unions. There are also seven sub-national jurisdictions which
are in a similar position. In the US 20 states are having their bans on same-sex
marriage challenged in the courts. In Oregon voters will decide whether or not
to legalise same-sex marriage and Ohio activists are collecting signatures to
ensure that Ohio does the same!
Hopefully by the end of 2014, gay rights will have
advanced across the globe!
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