Petition passes 300,000: biggest campaign this Parliament

The petition launched by the Coalition for Marriage (C4M) has become the biggest campaign this Parliament.

The petition has been signed by more than 300,000 people since its launch just a month ago, overtaking the previous biggest campaign which called on the Government to remove benefits from rioters.

The C4M petition calls on the Government to leave the current definition of marriage alone, which currently defines marriage as the voluntary union between one man and one woman for life.

It was launched in response to Government plans to consult on how to introduce same-sex marriage by Lynne Featherstone, the Equalities Minister.

And the surge in support shows no signs of slowing down, with the petition adding over 100,000 signatures since the Government announced its “sham consultation”.

Colin Hart, C4M campaign director, welcomed the huge rise in numbers and said that this was further evidence the Government plans to redefine marriage were wrong and should be scrapped.

“There has been a staggering response to the C4M petition, launched last month, which shows just how many ordinary men and women care about this issue. What has been particularly interesting is the jump in numbers backing the petition since the Government unveiled its sham consultation,” said Mr Hart.

“I hope the Government will consider the growing opposition to their proposals which are being pushed without the British people being given an opportunity to make their views clear.

“The Equalities Minister, who launched the Government consultation, has already made it clear that she will not listen to those who oppose the redefinition of marriage.”

And in a new development the European Court of Human Rights issued a ruling that calls into question the whole legal basis of the Government’s arguments for making this change.

Mr Hart continued, “There is no need to redefine marriage as civil partnerships already give all the legal rights of marriage to same sex couples.

“Redefining marriage would have all sorts of unintended consequences as the institution of marriage is woven into 800 years of our laws, history, education system and culture.

“It would also be profoundly undemocratic as none of the main political parties put this in their manifestos and a recent ComRes poll found 70 per cent of people oppose redefinition of marriage.

“It is time the Government called a halt to its sham consultation, and listen to the 300,000 people who oppose redefining marriage.”