Holyrood committee members share gay marriage bill concerns

A majority of MSPs scrutinising the bill to legalise gay marriage support the proposals.

However, some members of the Scottish Parliament’s equal opportunities committee have refused to back the bill because they are not convinced it has “adequate protections in place.”

Although there was no official vote on the issue, the committee has asked the Scottish Government to consider a number of issues, including the protection of faith and religious organisations’ freedom to conduct legally valid marriages.

Committee convener Margaret McCulloch said: “While the majority of our committee supports the general principles of this bill, we wholeheartedly support the right of all members of the Scottish Parliament to vote on the bill as a matter of conscience.”