Same sex couples in Scotland are now free to arrange their weddings to take place from 31st December. Some people are sure to have a very happy Hogmanay. Some had a very happy 16th December as they converted their civil partnerships into marriages.
One of the things I’m most proud of is that organisations like the Equality Network and LGBT Plus Lib Dems (thanks, Dave Page) were listened to and we don’t have the cruel spousal veto up here.
Also, the Guardian published a poll today that shows that equal marriage has never had such high support, with 68% of people backing it:
According to ScotCen Social Research, 68% of people in Scotland now agree that gay or lesbian couples should have the right to marry if they want to, compared to 61% in 2010 and 41% in 2002.
There has also been an increase in the strength of this support, with those saying they agree ‘strongly’ that gay couples should be allowed to marry increasing by 14% over the past four years, while only 7% ‘strongly disagree’ in 2014.
I don’t need much of an excuse to play you this. One of the best campaign videos of all time. The equal marriage campaign was one of the best I have ever been involved with. It had cross-party and no-party involvement and was relentlessly optimistic, reasonable and positively cheerful in the face of some pretty horrible opposition. This is truly gorgeous.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings