I came home shattered last night so it wasn't really until this morning that I discovered thanks to a late night blog from Stephen that Stonewall director Ben Summerskill had stated opposition to equal marriage at a DELGA fringe at Conference.
I know many of my friends have been increasingly annoyed with Stonewall in recent times. I was particularly disgusted with their lack of compassion for David Laws earlier this year.
Apparently equal marriage is too expensive & we shouldn't adopt it as feminists disagree with the concept of marriage. Well, as a happily married feminist, I beg to differ.
Sure there are some within the feminist movement who may be opposed to marriage as an idea but since when did that give them them the right to stop other people marrying? Stonewall's position would only be logical if it were campaigning to abolish marriage completely. And even if that were logical, it would still be wrong.
Stonewall's increasingly illiberal approach has already cost it the support if many Lib Dems, including Millennium's Daddy Richard. I expect that will continue as their authoritarian streak pushes its way forward.
I expect that our Conference will follow the lead of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and endorse equal marriage. Nobody has the right to tell me that the love my husband & I have for each other is any different than that of a same sex couple, yet we have a very unequal system of legal recognition of those relationships.
I really wish I were in Liverpool to vote for the motion & to support the right of same sex couples to marry if they wish.
Location:Still in bed
