NEWS
EVENTS
Ed Balls Supports Gay Marriage
Other | Wednesday 30th May 2012 | Osh
Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls has publicised his support of gay marriage, after revealing it was his late homosexual uncle who inspired him to do so.
Ed Balls believes same-sex couples should be legally allowed to wed in churches, just like heterosexual couples. In an online video, Mr Balls said “Twenty years ago my uncle came out in his fifties.” He also stated that his uncle was unable to marry his long-term partner because of his untimely and unfortunate death.
The politician also stated that his family supported his uncle with his sexuality, and hoped that he got married before his passing. “It’s what he would have wanted...” he said.
However, Ed Balls failed to name his uncle and a spokesman for the Labour Party explained it was to protect his relative’s privacy. But Balls will campaign for same-sex marriage because “People who want to get married should be able to.”
This news comes after Barak Obama and Hip-Hop superstar Jay-Z revealed their support for homosexual marriage last week. Both are married themselves and don’t believe sexuality should be an issue.
It’s astonishing in this day and age, with war all over the world, economic declines everywhere and fret for the planet’s future, that there is any need to campaign for people to get married regardless of sexuality.
Ed Balls wants homosexual couples to have the option of getting married in a church, and be accepted by the religious communities for who they are rather than their sexual orientation. Although he is straight, the influence of his uncle moved him to believe everyone should have the same rights.
Out4Marriage interviewed Ed Balls to help maintain public pressure on the campaign, whose wife is even in support of the movement. The Government has pressed on with the issue, but backlash has come from a number of Conservative MPs.
Ed Balls is one of a number of politicians who have come out in favour of gay marriage recently, with Home Secretary Theresa May recording a video for Out4Marriage last week. While Prime Minister David Cameron says he is in favour of gay marriage, he announced last week that he will give MPs a free vote on the subject to avoid a revolt among Conservative traditionalists on what is considered to be a ‘conscience’ issue.
The video has prompted the Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to attack Cameron’s view, saying supporting same-sex marriage was not a matter of conscience.
It’s currently unknown if or when the campaign will come to an end, but as they say, any publicity is good publicity. And with various MPs, the Prime Minister, President and many public figures and celebrities to show their support, it doesn’t look like the movement will end soon.
Marianne Calnan
