Gay marriage in Scotland - one more response from my representatives

[andrewducker]

David McLetchie (Conservative) got back to me with:

I welcome the establishment of civil partnerships in Scotland which means that civil partners now have the same legal rights and responsibilities as married couples in terms of their relationship with one another. Accordingly I do not see the need for further change.

I didn't bother replying, but am quite glad that marrog and lizzieandari did so.

Sarah Boyack (Labour) said:

In the past three Parliaments, I supported measures to tackle prejudice, intolerance and discrimination in all forms, not only because of the impact on the lives of those who experience it, but' because it holds us back as a nation.
We are very clear - after introducing civil partnerships, Scottish Labour'is proud to champion this agenda to tackle inequality and to ensure that Scotland is not left behind on this issue.

That leaves one Conservative (Gavin Brown) and one SNP (Kenny MacAskill) outstanding. I am amused that a search for "Kenny MacAskill same sex marriage" brings up my journal 4th on the list.

You have one last chance to respond to the consultation yourself, which you can do here. It's over tomorrow, so you won't have to hear about it after that. Well, until the actual bill, which will cause either jubliation or extreme frustration, depending.

Comments

[kiffkin.livejournal.com]

Same MSPs, same responses, same non-repliers. Pity I also made a point of noting how I'm concerned about political corruption (i.e. a famous political figure calling on his party to pander to the bigots on this in the hope of getting more votes for independence) that no-one's responded to or even acknowledged. Almost as if I was just added to the mailing list for the 'yes' side without my email actually being read.

[marrog.livejournal.com]

I got a few responses that made it very obvious my mail had been read, so they aren't all like that.

[kiffkin.livejournal.com]

That's reassuring to know. I was getting pretty dispirited about the stock responses, but they aren't nearly as important as being heard in the first place.

[ratmist.livejournal.com]

Katie and I got word for word the same response from David McLetchie. Not sure what I am going to reply. I'm so irritated at the "separate yet equal" mentality it makes me cross eyed with anger.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

I've had 3 responses out of 8 MSPs - one supporting civil marriage being equalised but not making clear his view on whether religious ceremonies should also be extended, one sitting on the fence entirely, and one 100 % in favour of full marriage equality.

Only the first reply answered specific points I'd made in my email but given he gave unclear answers I would have preferred to get a straight answer about his actual views even if it appeared to be a stock answer!

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

Party-wise, mine break down as:

1 Conservative sitting on the fence
1 SNP in full support
1 Labour in support of civil marriage but unclear on whether religious ceremonies should be legally binding

1 Lib Dem, 1 SNP (constituency representive), 2 Labour and 1 Conservation - no reply.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

Snail mail letter arrived from Lib Dem today - another 100 % in favour and the first to mention making civil partnerships open to all couples too. And she had obviously read my email properly and replied personally because she wished the Boy and I all the best for our marriage in the summer too.

[bracknellexile.livejournal.com]

I got a snail-mail reply from Kenny MacAskill this morning. It's carefully worded to state the overall tendencies of the Scottish Government and the fact that the SNP started a consultation but without actually stating his own personal views anywhere in it.

All in all, not overly impressed so one can only assume he'll follow the party line but if it ends up being a free-vote, who knows.

[bracknellexile.livejournal.com]

I know we've got the same MSP's andy, but just to tally up:

1 Conservative against
1 unclear (cheers for nothing, Kenny)
5 for (3 labour, 1 green and 1 independent)
1 Conservative not replied.

[andrewducker]

Yup. The question is whether the rest of the country is going to vote likewise...

[kiffkin.livejournal.com]

Also had a latter from Kenny MacAskill today - he said (I'm paraphrasing) he believes we should always aim for a more equal society and that although he voted for civil partnerships, he understands they have their limitations and appreciates why people want more. He then went on to talk about the party line and the consultation. He didn't actually say outright that he supports same-sex marriage, but he's leaving himself open to an awful lot of trouble if it turns out later that he doesn't.

[bracknellexile.livejournal.com]

Looks like yet another stock response sent in bulk. That's exactly what I got.