From Scotland, promising news came from SNP leader Alex Salmond who has now declared his personal support for gay marriage. It’s the first time he has made his support known, in a move which risks alienating religious voters ahead of the election, including the SNP’s biggest donor.
The First Minister told the Sunday Herald he was in favour of same-sex couples being allowed to wed in church, but opposed denominations being forced to allow such ceremonies.
He said he had not discussed the subject with Brian Souter, the millionaire boss of the Stagecoach group, who gave the SNP £625,000 during the 2007 election and is donating another £500,000 this year.
A member of the evangelical Church of the Nazarene, Souter bankrolled the controversial Keep the Clause movement in 2000. This tried to block the repeal of controversial legislation governing the discussion of homosexuality by local authorities and in schools.
Four of the five party manifestos contain proposals on gay marriage. Labour and the SNP say they will consult on the issue, while the LibDems and Greens say they would introduce gay marriage directly.
Only the Tory manifesto is silent on the issue.
As Salmond’s support goes beyond the manifesto, he stressed it was a personal point of view.
Nevertheless, it will be seen as a strong signal that the SNP is trying to shed its socially conservative image.
It was not until 2008 that the SNP had its first openly gay parliamentarian, when the MEP Alyn Smith came out. Surveys have found that Souter’s financial backing distances gay voters.
Asked if he was personally in favour of gay marriage, Salmond said: “I am.
“I’m very much against imposing it on any religion. But ... if a denomination is prepared to accept gay marriage then I’m in favour of it, yes.
“My personal feeling would be to tend towards it. But we’ll put it out to consultation.”
Full story continues - Herald Scotland
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