British schools to teach kids about gay marriage
February 27th, 2012 - 11:25 am ICT by IANSLondon, Feb 27 (IANS) Schools in Britain will be “forced” to teach children the importance of gay marriage, in a bid to redefine the institution of marriage, and teachers who refuse could face disciplinary action, a media report said.
According to the Daily Express, ministers are pushing ahead with a legal overhaul of the definition of marriage.
The government will reportedly publish next month a report on giving same-sex marriage the same legal definition as traditional marriage.
This will be the first step towards a “Gay Marriage Bill”, the daily said.
However, ministers insist churches will not be forced to marry gay couples.
“If marriage is redefined, schools will have no choice but to give children equivalent teaching on same-sex marriage, even those of a very young age,” said Peter Bone, Tory MP for Wellingborough.
Meanwhile, a group called the the Coalition for Marriage have collected 36,000 signatures against the change.
The group that includes bishops, politicians and lawyers has said that gay rights were being championed at the expense of the rights of Christians and other faiths.
However, Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone said it was up to the country and not religious institutions to decide who could marry.
“This is not a battle between gay rights and religious beliefs. This is about the principles of family, society and personal freedom,” she said.
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Tags: bishops, christians, coalition for marriage, disciplinary action, faiths, gay couples, gay marriage, gay rights, institution of marriage, london feb, lynne featherstone, marriage bill, personal freedom, religious beliefs, religious institutions, same sex marriage, signatures, tory mp, traditional marriage, wellingborough