Former Government Minister Ann Widdecombe has hit out at the Government’s Bill to redefine marriage, saying it provides the “opposite” of equality.
In her column for the Daily Express, Miss Widdecombe says there are many disparities between the proposed Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill and heterosexual marriage.
Under current rules, a marriage may be annulled if a man and woman do not consummate the marriage with sexual intercourse.
Discrimination
But Miss Widdecombe pointed out that the gay marriage Bill says this will not apply to homosexual couples.
More “significant” than that, she says, there is discrimination when it comes to adultery in the proposed law.
She said: “The Bill says only conduct with a person of the opposite sex can constitute adultery in divorce proceedings.”
Adultery
She added: “In other words adultery, unlike marriage, is to remain an exclusively heterosexual concept. And so it goes on.”
Miss Widdecombe pointed out that homosexual couples will be able to choose between civil partnerships or marriage, while heterosexual couples have just one option.
She said: “Equality? No. This Bill was conceived for purely political reasons and marriage has become David Cameron’s plaything.”
She added: “Those who, while privately opposing the measure, voted for it out of loyalty or ambition should now explain to constituents the profoundly unequal nonsense that is being created by this ill thought out Bill and should attach that explanation to their election addresses when they begin the scramble for votes.”