Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill

My Lords, as I have studied the development of this Bill thus far, I have been profoundly alarmed...

My Lords, we have been told by many speakers in this debate that the Bill is all about equality. ...

My Lords, first, I take this opportunity to thank the very many members of the public who have ta...

My Lords, I am a passionate supporter of the Bill. I support it because I believe in the institut...

My Lords, that is a very moving speech to follow. I have great difficulty with the Bill, over whi...

My Lords, I happen to be gay. I was made this way. It is something I share with hundreds of thous...

My Lords, we have heard some very powerful and moving speeches this afternoon. I heard every one ...

My Lords, I begin by expressing my respect for the speakers who have taken different stances on t...

My Lords, I associate myself closely with the previous speeches from these Benches but want to de...

My Lords, I have been in Parliament for 39 years and I cannot remember an occasion when so many i...

My Lords, I support the Bill and oppose the amendment, and I congratulate the Government on havin...

My Lords, I rise to support the Bill. I want to make three discrete points in this debate, which ...

My Lords, social change is often contentious and, indeed, even controversial. Looking back over t...

My Lords, as speaker 31 of 94 I am already beginning to feel that most points have been made; for...

My Lords, I share many of the concerns of the noble Lord, Lord Dear, although I have to confess t...

My Lords, I come to this debate with a traditional, basic approach that marriage is between a man...

My Lords, I have been moved and very humbled by the intensity of the letters that I have received...

My Lords, this is a fine debate and worthy of this House. It is a pleasure to follow the noble Lo...

My Lords, concern for social justice and human rights are basic to Sikh teaching, and I was delig...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Singh. I totally endorse his conclusion...

I share a great many views that the noble Marquess has expressed. However, he and I came from the...

I understand where the noble Lord is coming from. I say to him that, in looking at the Bill, I pe...

My Lords, I was anxious to participate in this debate. I will start by telling your Lordships wha...

My Lords, time is short and there are many speakers in this debate. Therefore, like others, I wil...

My Lords, it an honour to follow the noble Lord, Lord Dannatt, and I particularly want to thank h...

My Lords, I shall be brief. I echo what the noble Lord, Lord Mawhinney, has just said. However, l...

My Lords, I think by now most things have been said about the Bill. Nevertheless, I will repeat s...

My Lords, this Bill is promoted as a measure to end a discrimination against homosexuals, but the...

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Tebbit, asked some very ingenious and challenging questions, and I...

My Lords, when the civil partnership legislation came to your Lordships’ House, I spoke strongly ...

My Lords, to my mind, the evidence is quite clear. Marriage is a human construct and the romantic...

My Lords, the first thing I must say is that I have absolutely no choice about how I vote on this...

My Lords, we have heard some stirring speeches today. No one doubts their sincerity and commitmen...

My Lords, it seems to me that one of the difficulties we have when faced with something that appe...

I wonder whether the noble Lord would allow me to say that my argument was built on a very unsati...

All I would say to the noble and right reverend Lord is that he is asking for us to go back to ha...

My Lords, this Bill is about human rights and, as one citizen wrote to me, the creation of a soci...

My Lords, I regret that I cannot wholly follow or agree with the noble Baroness. Many speakers to...

My Lords, I got a phone call last week from a former colleague of mine, whom I had not heard from...

My Lords, seven years ago, this House considered the late Lord Joffe’s Bill on assisted dying for...

My Lords, like many of your Lordships, I am thoroughly unhappy with this Bill. Bearing in mind th...

My Lords, to be given one of the dog watch slots—number 57—in a debate in this House is usually s...

My Lords, marriage between a man and a woman has been the bedrock of society over the centuries a...

My Lords, this legislation brings into sharp focus the role of another important institution in o...

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Jenkin, observed that, from a Christian perspective, God can be pr...

My Lords, 60 years ago, when I was 12 years old, I was prepared for confirmation. In those days, ...

As many noble Lords have pointed out, the marriage Bill is highly emotive and induces strong feel...

My Lords, I support noble Lords who have spoken in favour of the Bill, but I wish to speak about ...

My Lords, like all noble Lords, I have received a vast amount of mail on this Bill and, because I...

My Lords, I am pathetically open-minded about many aspects of this Bill. I have studied with grea...

My Lords, I feel honoured to have drawn the short straw of being the last speaker this evening, a...