Church & Society Appendix 1 Proposed Amendments to the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill AMENDMENT 1 (ADOPTION & FOSTERING) Proposed by Richard Lyle If the law is changed there is great concern that, increasingly, couples will be prevented from fostering or adopting because of their views on traditional marriage. AMENDMENT 2 (PROTECTION OF CHARITABLE STATUS) Proposed by Richard Lyle The aim of the amendment is to ensure that an organisation’s charitable status cannot be removed because it supports traditional marriage. The view that marriage can only be between a man and a woman should not come into play when determining the eligibility of an organisation’s charitable status. AMENDMENT 3 (PUBLIC AUTHORITY FUNCTIONS) Proposed by Siobhan McMahon The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 places public authorities under a duty to have regard to the need to “eliminate discrimination”, “advance equality of opportunity” and “foster good relations”, including the need to “tackle prejudice”. There are concerns that this sweeping Duty could enable public authorities to undermine the effectiveness of protections provided in the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill, disadvantaging those with traditional beliefs about marriage. AMENDMENT 25 (NO COMPULSION TO BE INVOLVED IN SAME-SEX MARRIAGE) Proposed by John Mason The purpose of Amendment 25 is to ensure that those groups and individuals who do not wish to participate in same-sex marriages will have their religious liberty and rights of conscience protected. AMENDMENT 26 (BELIEF IN TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE WORTHY OF RESPECT) Proposed by John Mason The Government has repeatedly insisted that this Bill will not penalise those who sincerely hold the belief that marriage is only between a man and a woman. These assurances have been given despite the evidence that this has already been happening before marriage has been redefined. AMENDMENT 27 (REVIEW OF THE BILL) Proposed by John Mason The consequences of the redefinition of marriage are not fully known. Amendment 27 requires a review of the legislation after five years. Many civil liberty concerns have been raised with respect to the Bill, only to be largely dismissed by supporters of same-sex marriage. The review will look into the legislation’s impact on civil liberty, which will enable proper evaluation of the effectiveness of the Government’s protections. The review will not in any way damage the passage of the Bill. It will, however, enable MSPs to more accurately assess to what extent the Government’s assurances have been vindicated or contradicted by events. AMENDMENT 30 (COMMENCEMENT OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE LINKED TO AMENDMENTS TO THE EQUALITY ACT 2010) Proposed by John Mason Amendment 30 provides that the commencement of the same-sex marriage elements of the Bill would be conditional upon the UK Equality Act 2010 being amended. This is necessary because the roots of the key issues which may cause difficulty for people who disagree with same-sex marriage if the law is changed are not contained within the Bill itself, but in the provisions of the Equality Act.
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