STUDENT ARTICLE: Is same-sex marriage becoming more socially acceptable?

Anyone who has been keeping up with current affairs would know about the recent draft  that has just been passed at the second reading by the House of Commons to legalise same-sex marriage. It is a debate that has been raging for much of the recent past and is one that is still causing a division within political parties and also in society.

Prime Minister David Cameron has pioneered the proposition for same-sex marriage saying that marriage should be inclusive and open to anyone; homosexual, heterosexual or transgender.  However despite its leader being a major advocate for same-sex marriage, the issue has caused a major rift within the Conservative Party, with 136 of the 175 MPs who voted against the bill being Conservatives. Therefore, although the majority of 225 votes in favour of the same-sex marriage bill show that as a society we are becoming more accepting of gay marriage, the 175 who voted against the bill do show that society is still divided on the issue.

In fact, there is said to be a 60:40 split in society in favour of same-sex marriage. One way of looking at this is to say that as 40% of society opposes same-sex marriage, it is therefore not socially acceptable and that we as a society are still a long way from equality. However, on the other side, many would argue that a 60:40 split is a great improvement, and that we have come a long way as a society in acceptance of homosexuality. To think that 13 years ago, people who were openly homosexual were not allowed to serve in the armed forces, and before that gay people were being persecuted daily in society shows how far we have come as a society in the acceptance of homosexuality.

However many would say that the Church’s stance on same-sex marriage shows just how far away we are from social acceptance. The Pope has frequently made his opinion known that homosexuality is an abomination unto God in the eyes of the Catholic Church. Catholics refer to Leviticus in the Bible where it details that a man should not lay with another man as he does a woman. The Church of England will also refuse to conduct same-sex marriages and will in fact be banned by the Government from conducting these services. A recent article on the Church of England website highlights its position on the matter. As well as this, there has been further opposition to the bill by the new Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (pictured right). He has affirmed the Anglican Church’s position by saying that marriage should be ‘between a man and a woman’. In fact the only Christian denomination to support same-sex marriage are the Quakers.

For many, this opposition indicates that same-sex marriage still has a long way to go before it is fully accepted. However I believe that the ever greater acceptance of homosexuality, and same-sex marriage shows that society is definitely coming round to the idea and that it is no doubt becoming more socially acceptable.