Examination of Witnesses

Part of Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 2:00 pm on 14 February 2013.

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John Wadham: No. If the religious organisation does not want 100% conformity, that is entirely up to that organisation. But if it does want 100% conformity, it is not for the law to step in and say that they cannot have that. These two policy objectives could be resolved by amending the Bill so that you do not allow a same-sex couple to force an individual to marry them, but at the same time you allow the religious organisation to police its own ministers and staff. I think that that is possible. The two things are a bit mixed up and we are a bit anxious about that. But obviously, I would not want that to take away from the importance of the Bill.