PinkNews exclusive: Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson says ‘It’s Time’ for equal marriage in Scotland
The leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson has reaffirmed her support for equal marriage in Scotland by saying “it’s a matter of love” in a video for the Equality Network’s It’s Time campaign.
The MSP said: “I support equal marriage because I think that two people who love each other, who are committed to each other, should be able to make that commitment formalised in a marriage, and that’s equally true for people of the same gender as it is for people of different genders.”
Ms Davidson is the leader of the third largest party in the Scottish Parliament, representing 15 of the Parliament’s 129 MSPs. Although both Ms Davidson and Scottish Conservatives Deputy Leader Jackson Carlaw have signed the Equality Network’s Equal Marriage Pledge, the majority of Tory MSPs remain undecided or are opposed.
In her video Ms Davidson said: “I was talking to a colleague who asked me if this issue was important ‘Did it matter’ was what he said, and I said yes, it really does matter. It matters if the government tells you that you’re not allowed to marry the person that you love when you’re in a committed relationship – it does matter.”
She added: “For me this is a matter not just of personal freedom, but a matter of equality, it’s a matter of love. It’s a matter of being able to show the commitment that you feel to somebody else, and just because a couple happen to be of the same gender it doesn’t mean that their commitment is any less than people of different genders. It’s time in Scotland now that we allow same-sex marriage to happen so that people can show that commitment within their relationship.”
Tom French, policy co-ordinator for the Equality Network, said to PinkNews.co.uk: “It’s great to see such vocal support for equal marriage from the leadership of the Scottish Conservatives. We hope that in the weeks to come more Conservative MSPs will listen to the evidence, and get behind their leader and the large majority of Scots who believe that the time has come for LGBT equality in Scotland.”
The Equality Network’s It’s Time campaign is modelled on PinkNews’ Out4Marriage campaign.
The following figures have recorded Out4Marriage videos to date:
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg; Home Secretary Theresa May; Minister for Equalities and Culture Secretary Maria Miller; Labour leader Ed Miliband, Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin Group founder; the film star Hugh Grant; Stephen Fry; the actor Simon Callow; the illusionist Derren Brown; The Saturdays girl group; Jack Straw, the former Foreign Secretary; Caroline Lucas, the former leader of the Green Party; Lynne Featherstone, the Lib Dem Minister; Peter Tatchell, the gay rights campaigner; Lord (Chris) Smith, the first openly gay MP and Rabbi Ariel Friedlander and many, many more.
