Gay marriage calls put Rankin on common ground with Catholic Church

Councillor Paul Rankin this week responded to last week’s news that, with Sinn Fein tabling motions calling for same-sex marriage at councils across the island, another local authority had voted to support gay marriage.

With the exception of Fermanagh, where its motion was narrowly defeated by nine votes to eight, Sinn Fein has been successful in each council to date, despite Unionist opposition.

Though no such motion has yet been brought before Banbridge District Council, Mr Rankin this week moved to make clear his own position.

“The DUP policy is clear,” he said. “We are opposed to any redefinition of the traditional meaning of marriage - between one man and one woman.

“This is also my own personal position.”

Mr Rankin said the DUP seemed to be the only party in government opposed to gay marriage.

“The UUP are divided,” he said, “leaving individual members to express their own opinions; the SDLP have adopted no clear policy, with Alliance and Sinn Fein supporting gay marriage.”

While DUP opposition at Westminster had failed, he said, to prevent the Civil Partnership Act 2005 becoming UK law, Mr Rankin predicted supporters of same-sex marriage would struggle to get it through Stormont.

“Now that we have stable devolution,” he said, “if legislation proposing a redefinition of marriage were to be brought before Westminster - something that not even most European countries propose to introduce, as it is not European Law, unlike Civil Partnerships - it would also have to be voted through our own regional UK assemblies, including Stormont, before becoming law in Northern Ireland.

“With the DUP being the largest party, those in favour of such legislation would struggle to get it through.

“A similar debate is taking place in Scotland, where the largest party, the Scottish National Party, supports gay marriage, but amongst the opponents of gay marriage in Scotland is the Roman Catholic Church.

“This is one rare occasion where I would agree with the Roman Catholic church and Sinn Fein and the SDLP would do well on this particular issue to listen to the Roman Catholic Church.”