Andrew Walker, secretary of an Scottish National Party branch in the Western Isles, has quit citing the party’s gay marriage plans as one of the reasons.
The SNP led administration in Scotland is planning to push ahead with introducing same-sex marriage north of the border independently of David Cameron’s proposals at Westminster for England and Wales. Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond has spoken several times of his desire to allow gay and lesbian couples in Scotland to marry despite opposition from some within his own party and the Catholic Church.
Now party official Andrew Walker has quit the SNP after 22 years and he cities gay marriage as one of the reasons for his departure. Walker claims that the “many” gay people are “opposed” to gay marriage and that SNP government had “ignored the viewers of the majority” on the issue. Walker’s claims come despite opinion polls which have repeatedly put public support for gay marriage, in Scotland, as being in the majority.
Although results of the SNP’s public consultation revealed that 64% of those who responded were against that is because of a high profile campaign by the Catholic Church urging its congregation to oppose the plans. A new consultation, on the proposed draft legislation, is currently taking place and will last until March.
[Written by Martha Kirkpatrick, source Pink News]
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