# Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014

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Timeline 342 MSM activity made illegal 1533 Death penalty introduced for MSM activity 1543 Buggery Act extended to Wales 1828 Offences Against the Person Act 1828 1835 James Pratt and John Smith executed 1861 Death penalty for buggery abolished 1885 Labouchere Amendment introduced 1889 Cleveland Street scandal 1895 Oscar Wilde found guilty of gross indecency 1912 The Cave of the Golden Calf opens 1921 Plans to make lesbian activity illegal defeated 1936 Mark Weston transitions 1952 John Nott-Bower begins crackdown 1954 Pitt-Rivers, Montagu, Wildeblood imprisoned 1954 Alan Turing commits suicide 1957 Wolfenden report released 1967 MSM activity made legal (England & Wales) 1972 First British Gay Pride Rally 1976 Jeremy Thorpe resigns as Liberal leader 1981 MSM activity made legal (Scotland) 1981 First case of AIDS reported in the UK 1982 MSM activity made legal (NI) 1983 Gay men barred from donating blood 1984 Chris Smith elected as first openly gay MP 1987 Operation Spanner begins 1988 Section 28 comes into force 1989 Stonewall UK forms 1994 Age of consent for MSM becomes 18 1997 Angela Eagle becomes first openly lesbian MP 1998 Bolton 7 found guilty 1998 Lord Alli becomes first openly gay Lord 1999 Admiral Duncan bombing 2000 Gay men allowed in HM Armed Forces 2001 Age of consent equalised to 16 2001 MSM activity involving multiple men legal 2002 Same sex couples granted equal rights to adopt 2003 Section 28 repealed 2004 Civil partnerships introduced 2004 Gender Recognition Act 2004 2006 Discrimination made illegal 2008 Equalised access to IVF for lesbian couples 2008 Incitement to homophobic hatred made a crime 2009 Public apology to Alan Turing 2010 Equality Act 2010 2011 Gay men allowed to donate blood (1 yr deferral) 2013 Nikki Sinclaire becomes first openly trans MEP 2013 Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 2014 First same-sex marriages take place 2016 MSM activity not grounds for military discharge 2017 Turing law implemented 2017 Blood donation deferral 3 months (excl. NI) 2019 MPs legislate for gay marriage in NI 2020 Gay marriage legal across UK, incl. NI 2020 Blood donation deferral 3 months (incl. NI) 2021 Blood donation deferral equalised :
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The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 (asp 5) is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which allows same-sex couples to marry in Scotland since 16 December 2014.
The bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 26 June 2013 by Alex Neil MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing. The bill passed Stage 3 on 4 February 2014. It received Royal Assent on 12 March 2014.
The Act does not contain provisions to allow existing civil partnerships registered in Scotland to be converted into marriage, but includes provision for its later introduction into law; it permitted those already in civil partnership with one another to marry without first dissolving the mutual civil partnership.

## Background

As marriage is not reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Scottish Parliament has legislative competence to make changes to marriage law.
On 17 March 2009, the Petitions Committee unanimously agreed to question the Scottish Government on whether and when it planned to amend the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 to allow same sex marriages. They also requested that a reason be provided if an amendment could not be considered.
In March 2009, shortly before submission of the LGBT Network's petition to the Scottish Parliament, NUS Scotland established an Equal Marriage Campaign, launching a similar petition to the Scottish Parliament and calling for the amendment of legislation to allow same-sex marriage and mixed-sex civil partnerships in Scotland, although the petition itself did not distinguish between civil and religious marriage. This campaign attracted the support of a number of MSPs and MEPs, as well as activist organisations and individuals. The petition closed on 1 September 2009, having gathered 1,317 signatures. On 8 September the Petitions Committee convened after a summer recess, and agreed to contact the Government seeking responses to specific points raised in both petitions and the discussion.
On 1 December 2009, the Petitions Committee decided to seek a meeting between a government minister and the petitioners, as well as enquire as to whether the Government might consider setting up an advisory committee of interested parties. The Government rejected the petition, as legalising same-sex marriage in Scotland only would require changes in non-devolved matters such as the areas of immigration, pensions and inheritance law all of which would have to be done at national level. The head of the government's equality unit Hilary Third said that although from an equalities point of view "equal marriage is where we want to be" it would be a "difficult situation" if same-sex marriage was legal in Scotland but not England. In 2011 Her Majesty's Government announced a consultation on the legalising of same-sex marriage in England and Wales would be held, and it began in March 2012.

## Consultation

From September – December 2011 the Scottish Government held a consultation on the issue. The consultation offered consideration on both removing religious prohibitions for civil partnerships and also legalising same-sex marriage within that country. In the foreword to the consultation document, Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon stated
   "The Scottish Government is choosing to make its initial views clear at the outset of this consultation. We tend towards the view that religious ceremonies for civil partnerships should no longer be prohibited and that same sex marriage should be introduced so that same sex couples have the option of getting married if that is how they wish to demonstrate their commitment to each other. We also believe that no religious body or its celebrants should be required to carry out same sex marriages or civil partnership ceremonies."
Unlike the English and Welsh Consultation, the one for Scotland dealt with the issue of same-sex marriage in a religious context. On 10 December 2011, The Scotsman newspaper reported that some 50,000 responses had been received from within Scotland. In reality, when counting was finished, the total stood at 77,508. The Government presented the results and analysis of the consultation in July 2012. Respondents who opposed the introduction of same sex marriage were in the majority, with 67%.

## Passage through Parliament

On 25 July 2012 the Scottish Government announced it would bring forward legislation to legalise both civil and religious same-sex marriage in Scotland. The Government reiterated its intention to ensure that no religious group or individual member of the clergy would be forced to conduct such ceremonies; it also stated its intention to work with Westminster to make necessary changes to the Equality Act to ensure that this would be guaranteed.
On 27 June 2013, the Scottish Government introduced the Marriage and Civil Partnerships (Scotland) Bill in the Scottish Parliament. LGBT rights campaigners, celebrating outside the UK parliament on 15 July 2013 for the clearance of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill in the House of Lords, declared that they would continue the campaign to extend same-sex marriage rights to both Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The majority of the members of the Scottish Parliament have declared their support for same-sex marriage, including the leader of each party in Parliament: Alex Salmond (SNP; First Minister of Scotland), Johann Lamont (Labour), Ruth Davidson (Conservative), Willie Rennie (Liberal Democrats) and Patrick Harvie (Green).
The bill was fast-tracked through the Scottish Parliament with the aim of achieving Royal Assent for the legislation by March 2014. The Equal Opportunities Committee considered the bill from 5 September to 7 November, with a report published on 8 November. On 20 November, the bill passed Stage 1 with a 98 to 15 vote and 5 abstentions. Of the 98 MSPs that voted "yes" on the bill, 52 were members of the Scottish National Party, 31 were members of the Labour Party, 7 were members of the Conservative Party, 4 were members of the Liberal Democrats Party, 2 were members of the Green Party, and 2 were Independents. Of the 15 MSPs that voted "no" on the bill, 6 were members of the Scottish National Party, 8 were members of the Conservative Party, and 1 was a member of the Labour Party. Of the 5 MSPs that abstained, 2 were members of the Scottish National Party, and 3 were members of the Labour Party.
Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill – Stage 1 (20 November 2013) :
| Party | Party | In favour | Against | Abstentions |
| | SNP | 52 George AdamClare AdamsonChristian AllardColin BeattieMarco BiagiKeith BrownMargaret BurgessAileen CampbellRoderick CampbellWillie CoffeyAngela ConstanceBruce CrawfordGraeme DeyBob DorisJames DornanJim EadieAnnabelle EwingLinda FabianiJoe FitzPatrickKenneth GibsonRob GibsonChristine GrahameJamie HepburnAdam IngramColin KeirBill KiddRichard LochheadKenny MacAskillDerek MackayMike MacKenzieMichael MathesonJoan McAlpineMark McDonaldChristina McKelvieAileen McLeodFiona McLeodStuart McMillanAlex NeilGil PatersonDennis RobertsonShona RobisonMichael RussellAlex SalmondStewart StevensonKevin StewartNicola SturgeonJohn SwinneyDavid TorranceMaureen WattSandra WhiteJohn WilsonHumza Yousaf | 6 Alasdair AllanRoseanna CunninghamNigel DonFergus EwingRichard LyleJohn Mason | 2 Chic BrodieAngus MacDonald |
| | Labour | 31 Jackie BaillieClaire BakerRichard BakerJayne BaxterClaudia BeamishNeil BibbySarah BoyackMalcolm ChisholmKezia DugdaleMary FeeNeil FindlayRhoda GrantIain GrayMark GriffinHugh HenryCara HiltonJames KellyJohann LamontLewis MacdonaldKen MacintoshJenny MarraPaul MartinMargaret McCullochMargaret McDougallDuncan McNeilAnne McTaggartElaine MurrayGraeme PearsonJohn PentlandDrew SmithDavid Stewart | 1 Elaine Smith | 3 Hanzala MalikMichael McMahonSiobhan McMahon |
| | Conservative | 7 Cameron BuchananJackson CarlawRuth DavidsonAnnabel GoldieJohn LamontMary ScanlonJohn Scott | 8 Gavin BrownAlex FergussonMurdo FraserAlex JohnstoneJamie McGrigorNanette MilneMargaret MitchellLiz Smith | – |
| | Liberal Democrats | 4 Jim HumeLiam McArthurAlison McInnesWillie Rennie | – | – |
| | Scottish Green | 2 Patrick HarvieAlison Johnstone | – | – |
| Independents | Independents | 2 John FinnieJean Urquhart | – | – |
| Total | Total | 98 | 15 | 5 |
The bill returned to the Equal Opportunities Committee for Stage 2. The Committee considered the bill on 19 December 2013, rejecting several amendments proposed by opponents of the legislation. The Committee continued Stage 2 on 16 January 2014. The final Stage 3 debate and vote was held on 4 February 2014. The bill was approved with 105 MSPs in favour and 18 opposed, with no abstentions. The bill received Royal Assent on 12 March 2014 and the first same-sex marriages occurred on 16 December 2014, for partners in a civil partnership who converted into marriage.
Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill – Stage 3 (4 February 2014) :
| Party | Party | In favour | Against | Absent (Didn't Vote) |
| | SNP | 56 George AdamClare AdamsonChristian AllardColin BeattieMarco BiagiChic BrodieKeith BrownMargaret BurgessAileen CampbellRoderick CampbellWillie CoffeyAngela ConstanceBruce CrawfordGraeme DeyNigel DonBob DorisJames DornanJim EadieAnnabelle EwingLinda FabianiJoe FitzPatrickKenneth GibsonRob GibsonJamie HepburnFiona HyslopAdam IngramColin KeirBill KiddRichard LochheadKenny MacAskillGordon MacDonaldDerek MackayMike MacKenzieMichael MathesonStewart MaxwellJoan McAlpineMark McDonaldChristina McKelvieAileen McLeodFiona McLeodStuart McMillanAlex NeilGil PatersonDennis RobertsonShona RobisonMichael RussellAlex SalmondStewart StevensonKevin StewartNicola SturgeonJohn SwinneyDavid TorranceMaureen WattPaul WheelhouseSandra WhiteJohn Wilson | 7 Alasdair AllanRoseanna CunninghamFergus EwingRichard LyleAngus MacDonaldJohn MasonDave Thompson | 2 Christine GrahameHumza Yousaf |
| | Labour | 33 Jackie BaillieClaire BakerRichard BakerJayne BaxterClaudia BeamishNeil BibbySarah BoyackMalcolm ChisholmKezia DugdaleMary FeePatricia FergusonNeil FindlayRhoda GrantIain GrayMark GriffinHugh HenryCara HiltonJames KellyJohann LamontLewis MacdonaldKen MacintoshHanzala MalikJenny MarraPaul MartinMargaret McCullochDuncan McNeilAnne McTaggartElaine MurrayGraeme PearsonJohn PentlandAlex RowleyDrew SmithDavid Stewart | 3 Elaine SmithMichael McMahonSiobhan McMahon | 1 Margaret McDougall |
| | Conservative | 7 Cameron BuchananJackson CarlawRuth DavidsonAnnabel GoldieJohn LamontMary ScanlonJohn Scott | 8 Gavin BrownAlex FergussonMurdo FraserAlex JohnstoneJamie McGrigorNanette MilneMargaret MitchellLiz Smith | – |
| | Liberal Democrats | 5 Jim HumeLiam McArthurAlison McInnesWillie RennieTavish Scott | – | – |
| | Scottish Green | 2 Patrick HarvieAlison Johnstone | – | – |
| Independents | Independents | 2 John FinnieJean Urquhart | – | – |
| Total | Total | 105 | 18 | 3 |