Much noise has been made over the fact that David Cameron’s put loads of women in the cabinet. But, as we’ve discovered, not all the women in the cabinet are necessarily good for women. As well as one supporting the death penalty and many of them having voted against extending benefits for the most vulnerable, he appointed Nicky Morgan – who voted against gay marriage – as minister for equalities at the Department for Education.
Not only that, but the other minister for equalities? Caroline Dinenage, who said that there was ‘no legitimate reason’ for gay marriage equality to be introduced. Oh, and her voting record?
She voted against gay marriage equality in 2013.
As for what she’s said in parliament, Hansard tells us that, this year, she’s said more about the rights of people who want a faster train line from Portsmouth to London than any minority group, so we’ll have to go with what she’s said outside of parliament, in a letter to a constituentwho asked her about gay marriage:
‘The institution of marriage is distinctive and the state has no right to redefine its meaning – these proposals [for marriage equality] were not included in any of the three main manifestoes nor did it feature in the Coalition’s Programme for Government.
‘As I have mentioned, under current law, same-sex couples can have a civil partnership but not a civil marriage and I believe that there’s no legitimate reason to change this. Preventing same-sex couples from being allowed to “marry” takes nothing away from their relationship.’
The mind boggles, tbh.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.