US: Presbyterian Church to vote on allowing same-sex marriage
The US Presbyterian church will on Friday vote on whether or not to allow same-sex marriages to take place.
The vote will take place at the denomination’s legislative General Assembly in Detroit.
The meetings have already begun, but final deliberations by the full assembly will take place on Thursday and Friday.
A committee within the church voted 51-18 to allow pastors to offer same-sex marriages at their discretion, and 49-18 to recommend changing the church constitution to define marriage as the union between two people, regardless of gender.
The US Presbyterian Church in 2012 rejected a motion to open up marriage to gay couples.
After four hours of debate, delegates at the biennial Church Assembly in Pittsburgh voted 338-308 to reject the proposals.
This year’s proposals are expected to be taken up by the assembly.
