Gay weddings will 'abolish' marriage...

• Justin Welby warns marriage is abolished, redefined and recreated
• House of Lords begins marathon debate on same-sex marriage bill
• More than 130 Tory MPs opposed the legislation in the Commons
• David Cameron said he is 'proud' of the equality laws

The Archbishop of Canterbury today warned plans to legalise gay weddings will ‘abolish’ the institution of marriage and replace it with a weaker option.

The Most Rev Justin Welby said the controversial plans would be ‘neither equal nor effective’.

The House of Lords has begun a marathon debate on the controversial legislation, with David Cameron repeatedly urged to ditch the plans.

Warning: Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said the gay weddings laws effectively abolish marriage as an institution

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill has already endured a stormy passage through the Commons where more than 130 Tory MPs voted against it.

It is certain to face detailed challenges in the Lords, if it survives a crunch vote tomorrow night which could see it thrown out altogether.

Archbishop Welby told the Lords: 'With much regret but entire conviction I cannot support the Bill as it stands.’

More...

• Cameron uses lobbying scandal to go to war with the unions: Reforms to clean up politics will target Labour's funders
• Classroom extremists will be rooted out: Cameron orders crackdown on 'conveyer belt' of hate in schools and universities
• 'Blinkered' climate change deniers accused of 'dangerous, publicity-seeking, bloody-mindedness' by Energy Secretary Ed Davey

He warned said the legislation ‘assumed that the rightful desire for equality must mean uniformity, failing to understand that two things may be equal but different’.

He also said the Bill distinguished between same and different gender marriage, ‘thus not achieving true equality’.

He told peers: ‘The result is confusion. Marriage is abolished, redefined and recreated.

Archbishop Welby expressed regret for the way the Church had treated homosexuals in the past

‘The new marriage of the Bill is an awkward shape with same gender and different gender categories scrunched into it, neither fitting well.

‘The concept of marriage as a normative place for procreation is lost, the idea of marriage as covenant is diminished, the family in its normal sense pre-dating the state and as our base community of society is weakened.

‘For these and many other reasons, those of us in the Church and other faith groups who are extremely hesitant about the Bill in many cases hold that view because we think traditional marriage is a cornerstone of society.

‘Rather than adding a new and valued institution alongside it for same gender relationships, which I would personally strongly support to strengthen us all, this Bill weakens what exists and replaces it with a less good option that is neither equal nor effective.’

But Archbishop Welby also expressed regret for the way the Church had treated homosexual people in the past.

‘The Church has often not served the LGBT communities in the way it should,’ he said.

‘I must express my sadness and sorrow at that considerable failure. It is also necessary to express total rejection of homophobic language, which is wrong and, more than that, sickening.’

Last month Mr Cameron said he was 'proud' to have backed same-sex weddings, revealing his hope that young boys at school today who think they might be gay and are being bullied will 'stand a bit taller' as a result of the equality laws.

But many Tory MPs have complained the the policy was not in the party's manifesto and has no 'mandate'.

Earlier, independent crossbench peer Lord Dear demanded that the Bill should be refused a second reading in the Upper House.

His unusual move follows fierce opposition to the legislation from dozens of Tory backbenchers and religious leaders.

Lord Dear warned that the 'ill-considered Bill seeks to overturn centuries of tradition, heedless of public opinion and the views of religious leaders, and blind to the laws of unintended consequences'.

The former west midlands chief constable said the legislation sought to 'alter totally the concept of marriage as we have always known it'.

He added: 'It seeks to divide a nation with an argument that hides behind the concept of equality, when in reality it is about sameness and it stands on its head all considerations of electoral mandate.

Subscribe

Monitor continues to update the latest from This blog directly in your email!