David Cameron: I want more gay couples to adopt children
The Prime Minister has said “prejudice” should not stop gay couples getting in the way of adopting children.
David Cameron made the remarks in a speech this week on marriage at the Royal College of GPs.
He said: “When there are children in need of a loving family, and gay couples with so much love to give, we should not allow prejudice to stand in the way of progress for our children or for our wider society.
“That sends a powerful message about who we are as a country in the modern world.”
Mr Cameron defended his decision to introduce a transferable tax allowance for married couples and civil partners, the Prime Minister linked it to the legalisation of same-sex marriage in England and Wales.
He said: “I think it’s important that government sends a strong signal that we back marriage. That’s why I think it’s wrong that Britain has been one of the few countries in the world that hasn’t properly recognised marriage in the tax system.
“And it’s right that this government is changing that.
“Let me be clear. I don’t think that this will suddenly mean people deciding to get married for a few extra pounds. That’s not what it’s about.
“It’s about sending a clear message that in Britain we recognise and value the commitment that people make to each other. And that’s just as vital whether the commitment is between a man and a woman, a man and a man or a woman and another woman.
“I believe in the right of marriage for all people.
“As I’ve said, when people’s love is divided by law, it is the law that needs to change.
“So we’ve changed it.”
Mr Cameron then announced in his speech that he would be getting the government to look at changing regulations which maintain a marriage certificate must ask details of the fathers, but not the mothers of the betrothed.
The PM said: “We’re going to address another inequality in marriage too. The content of marriage registers in England and Wales has not changed since the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign.
“At the moment, they require details of the couples’ fathers, but not their mothers. This clearly doesn’t reflect modern Britain – and it’s high time the system was updated.
“So I have asked the Home Office is to look at how we can address this too.”
