Scotland is better for the introduction of same-sex marriage and Northern Ireland should follow suit, the Scottish Conservatives’ leader has claimed.
Ruth Davidson made the remarks ahead of speaking to pro-gay marriage supporters in Belfast last night.
Coalition for Marriage (C4M), which backs the traditional definition of marriage, said changing the institution opens it up to further redefinitions.
Diluting marriage
C4M’s Campaign Director Colin Hart noted that there are 40,000 members of the group in Northern Ireland and they do not support a redefinition of marriage.
“Rewriting the current law dilutes our understanding of marriage and opens the door to future redefinitions.
“Those arguing for introducing gay marriage must also address the way a small minority of people exploit this debate to attack those with traditional views.”
Ashers Baking Co
He highlighted the Ashers Baking Company case, which saw the Christian owners of a bakery being taken to court for declining to decorate a cake with a pro-gay marriage campaign slogan.
Mr Hart continued: “In England we have seen other cases where those who back traditional marriage have faced being sacked, demoted or having their wages cut.
“Changing the law in Northern Ireland will lead to many more similar cases.”
‘Rights’
Currently in Northern Ireland, marriage is defined as between one man and one woman. Stormont has repeatedly voted on the issue but has always blocked any redefinition.
Ruth Davidson met both supporters and opponents of the current law ahead of a speech at an LGBT event on Tuesday.
She said that same-sex marriage was not about one section of people, but giving the same rights to all.
Civil liberties
“Scotland is a better place today because of equal marriage and I want to take that positive message from our experiences here to Belfast and beyond”, she added.
Davidson was among 105 MSPs who backed same-sex marriage in 2014. Politicians rejected amendments to provide greater civil liberty protections for people who believe in traditional marriage.