The Sunday Times criticises gay marriage plans

The Sunday Times has broken away from its weekday counter-part by disagreeing with government plans to allow gay couples to marry.

The Sunday Times has stuck to more traditional ground by disagreeing with the proposals to introduce gay marriage. It’s weekday counter-part, The Times, shocked many last month when it came out in favour of gay marriage and wrote several editorials on the subject. The editorials even criticised leading Church figures who were in opposition to gay marriage.

The Sunday Times though disagrees and feels such plans are “unnecessary”. The Sunday Times published an editorial in yesterday’s edition which was in support of views expressed by Labour MP Ben Bradshaw – who is openly gay – who claimed David Cameron’s support for gay marriage was less to do with equality and more to do with politics. Bradshaw said ‘This is pure politics on their part. This isn’t a priority for the gay community, which already won equal rights with civil partnerships. We’ve never needed the word ‘marriage’, and all it’s done now is get a bunch of bishops hot under the collar. We’ve been pragmatic, not making the mistake they have in the US, where the gay lobby has banged on about marriage.’

It was a view point shared by The Sunday Times who wrote, on Easter Weekend, ‘It is hard, however, to disagree with Ben Bradshaw, the Labour frontbencher, who accuses the government of playing “pure politics” with gay marriage. He, like most other gays in civil partnerships, is happy to call it a marriage. The further step proposed by the government is, he says, an unnecessary distraction. Mr Cameron is pushing gay marriage and picking a fight with the church for political reasons. It is indeed unnecessary’

The different review points of The Time and The Sunday Times is certainly interesting and as yet no other newspaper has shown such a divide between its weekday and Sunday counter-parts. The Daily Telegraph has also, predictably, come out against gay marriage though the Daily Mail – while questioning public support for it – did publish a column in support which surprised many.

Some would argue that The Sunday Times and Ben Bradshaw are missing the point that ‘equal but separate’ isn’t equal at all. If something is kept separate from the rest of society then that is not equality at all no matter how desperately people – the Church – try to dress it up as so.

Read our article on why The Gay Spot supports gay marriage here >>

[Via Pink News] {jcomments off}