I have faith.

I'm no where near the age to be thinking about getting married, but I'm still so invested in it going through I'll be disappointed if it doesn't.

I'll be gutted if it doesn't go through. I'm only 20 and unfortunately single so there's no marriage on the cards for a long time but it's still very important to me.

The religious Tories have made all sorts of outrageous statement, but at the end of the day, marriage is a civil issue, not a religious one.

I hear that gay marriage is to be legal in Scotland from 2014

It didn't offend me as such. I just think given he chooses not to identify as gay, it's poor form to speculate.



Fingers crossed!

Ayes 400 Noes 175

Now whats happening?

^Has to go down the corridor to the House of Lords. Bit more tricky over there I think.

I'd be sad too if it didn't go through, not because I give much of a hoot for myself, but I do for other gay men and women who want to get married.

Marriage sucks anyhow

Fine. You're not invited to mine and Andrei's wedding.

Who's Andrei?

My future husband, Andrei Arshavin.

(or someone similar)

Now that it's passed its second reading in the Commons, the Bill will go to the 'Committee Stage' still in the Commons (which is where detailed examination of each clause within the Bill and any amendments to it may be debated in further depth) and this usually takes place within a couple weeks of the second reading.

Once the Committee Stage is over, it remains in the Commons for the 'Report Stage' for another debate and further amendment proposals to it if required. The Report Stage gives all MP's a chance to speak and vote which can be a process taking several days (and likely could be with this given it's 'controversial' nature to some people). This stage will be followed (usually on the same day as the next business on the agenda) by the third and final reading of the Bill in the Commons which is the final chance for the Commons to debate about the contents within the Bill. At the end of this Third debate, the Commons vote on whether to approve the Bill. If they do, then it will go to the House of Lords for it's First reading.

Once at the Lords, the First reading just consists of reading the title of the Bill out loud and then the Second Reading through to Third Reading takes place with each of the stages described in the paragraphs above being carried out in the exact same format except this time the only difference being it's in the Lords.

Once/if the Bill has passed the Third reading in Lords, it will go back to the Commons for them to consider what the Lords have debated/amended during their readings/stages and not until both Houses agree on the exact wording of the Bill will things progress any further (so it can be a lengthy process this part if its continuously going back and forth in disagreement between the Commons/Lords).

Once agreement is reached between both houses on the final version of the Bill, it will then be sent off for what is known as Royal Assent (which is pretty much just a legal formality as if the Houses agree, it's only in exceptionally rare circumstances when Assent won't be given!) and at this point is when it will become an Act of Parliament (and thus be a law).

Edit: Just realised how much I've rambled on there! Apologies for the lengthy post but the geeky legal side to me came out in full force

Thankyou very much for that, it's very helpful.

One question, so amendments can be made to the bill now but can it still be blocked from passing as law? Or is it definitely going to pass, in some form?

It's no problem

Put simply, the Bill will likely pass as law at some point in some form given the majority in favour of the Bill from the figures released of today's debate and voting (though the length of time this will take is dependent upon the length it takes for the entirety of the process described in my previous post). The 'most important stage' to the Bills progress in the Commons (although, I suppose all are important in their own way!) was the Second Reading which it passed today with the positively encouraging 225 majority.

If the Bill had been voted against today by the Commons, then none of the 'amendment' and 'consideration' stages would take place and the Bill wouldn't have gone any further and it would have been blocked from passing as law. However, as it has been passed as a Bill, the issues hereon in aren't in regard to whether the same sex marriage Bill should be introduced - which was the main purpose and vote of today's debate - but rather in what form the law will eventually be introduced as (i.e the exact wording/provisions contained within the legislation when it comes in to force)

Again, sorry for the lengthy post

No need to apologise, I'm grateful for the explanation.

I was unsure if this was really that significant and although there is still a long way to go, I guess it really is a great day.

The Tories voting against it is disappointing though. Not that I would ever consider voting for them.

I was thinking about this earlier. What would you do if, as an example, that the local Tory voted for the bill whilst both Liberal and Labour candidates votes against it?

Who'd you vote for? You wouldn't want to vote for the party you disagree with as a protest for the candidate from the party you support voting against it.

That would be a really tough decision to make. Fortunately not one I'm faced with and I don't envy anyone faced with such a choice.

Yeah, it truly is a great day There is the argument that there's no guarantee it's going to become law and therefore, we shouldn't really get our hopes up now, but like I said above, although it still has to go through all these stages (and it probably will face much stronger opposition in the Lords than it will in the Commons) the fact that David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband all voted in favour as well as the very strong 225 majority vote in favour of it today, it's almost inevitable to become law as the Lords will not want to ruffle the feathers in the Commons by defying the Commons' vote and voting in opposition to it.

I really do think that today will become one of those landmarks in history as a step forward for equality

As for the Tories who voted against it (excluding those who abstained or didn't vote), there was approx 135 Tories who voted no whilst there was also approx 125 Tories who voted in favour of it. That's almost a 50/50 split which, whilst not great, is far better than what I expected the majority of the Tories would vote! Having said that, a significant number of the key players/big wigs in the Tory party have voiced their support of the Bill which I think they have to be given full credit for given the split it's causing in their party
I'm not entirely sure what I'd do in those circumstances. I'd be highly disappointed that my Constituencies MP had voted against the Bill, but I probably wouldn't let that put me off voting for the party I supported as I wouldn't have supported that party in the first place based upon their one representative for my constituency but rather for the party's policies and views in general. You have to remember that this vote was a free vote and the MP's were not told how to cast their vote by the party Whips.

Not sure if I've explained that well or not lol, but it makes sense to me

^Well I guess that's the way to look at it. Providing it does become law, I guess you can still vote for the candidate of the party you support even if they voted against it. After all, you have to look at the bigger picture.

###


And now, for a little bit of light hearted relief after all this political talk .....


Embarrassed myself today. Went to one of those well known cafes, placed my order with the lady and moved down the queue to the till. The guy turned around to ask what I'd ordered and... oh myyyy... he was like one of those Abercrombie models (except he wasn't vacant behind the eyes) ...my mind went blank. Couldn't think what I'd ordered...

Had to share this.. absolutely beautiful wedding/civil partnership ceremony video from Australia.

Makes you live in hope that one day it'll all be like this.
http://youtu.be/bLiIxJowxG0

Lol, I bet you were thinking, "Whatever I ordered I changed my mind, I'll have a side of you!"

^You read my mind!

I wonder if he comes with a shake.

Thurrock Tory MP Jackie Doyle-Price abstained. She didn't even answer my email on the subject earlier. Non of our local MP's voted for, but they are all Tories.

Oooh the thought... *drifts off into a daydream*