BRITAIN: House Of Lords Deputy Speaker Resigns In Drugs And Prostitution Scandal

The Telegraph reports:

Parliamentary authorities have called in Scotland Yard after a peer who oversees standards in the House of Lords was pictured allegedly taking cocaine with two prostitutes. Baron Sewel of Gilcomstoun, a Deputy Speaker of the Lords, resigned amid claims he took the Class A drug at a sex party. The House of Lords authorities immediately referred his case to police and dubbed the revelations "shocking and unacceptable". Lord Sewel, formerly a Labour peer and ally of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, was said to have been caught on video telling the £200-a-night prostitutes that he wanted to "be led astray". The Lord Speaker issued a strongly-worded statement in which she said Scotland Yard would be asked to investigate. Baroness D’Souza said: "Today’s revelations about the behaviour of Lord Sewel are both shocking and unacceptable. "Lord Sewel has this morning resigned as Chairman of Committees. The House of Lords will continue to uphold standards in public life and will not tolerate departure from these standards"

While Sewel has resigned from his post as deputy speaker, he remains a member of the House Of Lords. For now. More from the Guardian:

He paid women in prostitution for their services in a grace and favour flat in Dolphin Square for which he pays £1,000 a month instead of the going rate of nearly £3,000. This man’s “private life” is subsidised to the hilt by the taxpayer, and that is what really sticks in the craw. That, and his comments about Asian women. He asks if there will be any “nice little young Asian women” at the party, before adding, “they sort of look innocent but you know they are whores”. As he was the guy in the Lords responsible for making sure that his colleagues, his fellow public servants, behaved properly, the notion of “double standards” covers him much less impressively than that unfortunate bra. His awful moaning to the women who charged him £200 a night about how he can’t get by on a Lords allowance of £200 a day is the worst element of the whole scandal. “I do spend it on wine and different things,” he remarked. In reality the allowance for peers is £300 a day, though it does not apply to Sewel. He is paid £120,000 a year, made up of his salary for his part-time work chairing committees in the Lords (£84,525) and his allowance of £36,000 for maintaining a home in London. He complains that he is struggling, and when one of the women asks if his £200 allowance pays for his lunch, he replies: “It’s not lunch luvvie darling, it’s paying for this”. Wow. Is there any real question that he should remain in the House? That he should not be expelled?

BRITAIN: House Of Lords Approves Marriage Equality Bill

The House Of Lords today approved its version of the marriage equality bill on its third reading.

The upper, unelected chamber approved the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill without a vote in London today. Some members of the house wore pink carnations to mark the occasion. The legislation has already been passed by the Commons amid opposition from more than 100 lawmakers from Cameron’s Conservative Party. The bill will now return to the Commons, where amendments introduced by the Lords will be considered. If they’re accepted, the bill will be sent to Queen Elizabeth II for her signature before becoming law.

Pink News reports on the bill's amendments.

The amendments added to the bill will be introduced by Culture Secretary Maria Miller in the House of Commons at 7pm tomorrow, and if accepted the bill will go on to receive Royal Assent, when the Queen is available to sign it. The amendments include a provisions to hold reviews of equal pension survivor rights, humanist weddings and civil partnerships for opposite-sex couples. At Report Stage in the Lords, the bill was subject to scrutiny, and many government amendments were added, in order to tidy it up.

LIVE VIDEO: Final Day Of Marriage Bill Report Stage In House Of Lords

The House Of Lords today wraps up the debate on the report stage of the marriage equality bill for England and Wales. Live streaming video is here.  Pink News is running a live blog here.  Earlier today an amendment that would have stipulated a difference between opposite and same-sex marriage was withdrawn.

Amendment 85, introduced by Lord Armstrong of Ilminster, a life peer, was withdrawn following several peers noting that a similar amendment was voted on, and rejected on Monday; the first day of Report Stage. Baroness Thornton said the amendment was “ingenuous”, in that it “seeks to wreck the bill through secondary legislation”. She questioned how same-sex marriage undermines opposite sex marriage, and saying that the amendement would have undermined the very point of the bill.

Quote Of The Day - Lady Tina Stowell

"As the law stands, if I was married to George Clooney and he was to have a sexual affair with, say, the noble Baroness, Lady Thornton, that would be adultery. If I was married to George Clooney and Mr Clooney had sexual relations with the noble Lord, Lord Alli, that would not be adultery because he would not be able to do the sexual act which is very specifically defined in law. Should I wish to divorce Mr Clooney on those grounds, I would do so on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour. In future, if the noble Lord, Lord Alli, was to marry Mr Clooney, and Mr Clooney was to have an affair with me—and who would blame him in those circumstances?—that would be adultery and the noble Lord, Lord Alli, should he choose to, would be able to divorce Mr Clooney on those grounds." - Marriage equality supporter Lady Tina Stowell, speaking yesterday during the House Of Lords debate on the rules of gay divorce.

NOTE: Gay Star News points out that Lord Alli is openly gay. Things aren't totally stuffy in the House Of Lords.

LIVE VIDEO: Same-Sex Marriage Bill Now In Report Stage At House Of Lords

Britain's same-sex marriage bill today entered the report stage in the House Of Lords. Live streaming video is here. Pink News is running a live-blog of the proceedings. Their first entry: "Amendment 1 put forward for marriage terminology – whether there should be a distinction between ‘same-sex couples’ and ‘opposite sex couples.'"

BRITAIN: Final House Of Lords Debate On Same-Sex Marriage Now Underway

Today the House Of Lords is debating same-sex marriage for the third and final day of the bill's committee stage. Pink News is running a live-blog. Watch the video live-stream.

BRITAIN: Hate Group Cites Regnerus In "Gay Marriage No Thanks" Newspaper Ad

Pink News reports:

A new anti-equal marriage group called ‘Gay Marriage No Thanks’, which has former Christian Peoples Alliance leader Alan Craig as its spokesman, has taken out an advert in The Times – a newspaper which editorially supports marriage equality. The ‘Gay Marriage No Thanks’ group brings together legal, educational, medical and sociological individuals in their joint-opposition of marriage rights for same-sex couples. Craig said: “Talk of the rights of adults has dominated debate about the issue, whether those are homosexual rights or religious rights. But what about the rights of children? And what does the evidence say about the impact of these plans?

The first footnote in the ad cites the widely discredited Regnerus study.  The group has created a website to support their "No Thanks" campaign.

LIVE VIDEO: House Of Lords Debates Marriage Equality Amendments

A committee in the House of Lords is today debating the many proposed amendments to Britain's marriage equality bill. Watch live here. Pink News is running a live blog and you can follow along here.

Another Stalling Tactic In House Of Lords

Three members of the House Of Lords have introduced an amendment that would stop the marriage equality bill from going into effect until after also being approved in a national referendum to be held two or three years from now.

The amendment, tabled by Labour peer Lord Anderson of Swansea, Conservative peer Lord Cormack, and crossbench peer Lord Singh of Wimbledon, calls for a referendum on equal marriage to be held on 7 May 2015, or if that date is unsuitable, it would be required to take place before 1 June 2016. The question which would be raised for the referendum is: “At present, the law in England and Wales defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Should the law be changed to define marriage as the union of two people—whether a man and a woman, or woman and a woman, or a man and a man?”. The amendment states that, even if the bill is passed at all stages, it would not be able to come into effect until a majority of voters at the referendum vote in its favour.

Another amendment on the table calls for the creation of a separate marriage registry for straight couples.

BRITAIN: Former Archbishop Of Canterbury Proposes Separate Marriage Registry For Straight Couples

Gay Star News reports on the latest bid to torpedo Britain's marriage bill:

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord George Carey is trying to wreck gay marriage in England and Wales by creating a new gold standard only straights can be part of – ‘traditional marriage’.  As a member of the House of Lords, he is proposing to amend the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill so it recognizes ‘traditional marriage’ as only being between a man and a woman.  Opposite-sex couples will then be put on a separate official marriage register if they want, so they don’t even have to share a list – let alone the institution of marriage – with gay and lesbian couples. It’s just one of the amendments designed to wreck the bill as it goes through committee stage in the House of Lords.It’s just one of the amendments designed to wreck the bill as it goes through committee stage in the House of Lords. The unelected upper chamber of the British parliament has already approved the bill going ahead, after being passed it by the elected House of Commons.But now Lords get to scrutinize it and suggest changes.

The bill gets its third and final reading in the House Of Lords on July 15th.

BRITAIN: House Of Lords Member Geoffrey Dear Introduces Amendment To Legalize Anti-Gay Marriage Discrimination

Lord Geoffrey Dear, whose "wrecking amendment" failed to stop marriage equality from progressing in the House Of Lords last week, is at it again.  Dear's just-presented amendment would prohibit the punishment of anti-gay discrimination based on "belief in traditional marriage." Unlike similar amendments presented in many US state legislatures, Dear's does not explicitly mention religious belief.  The bill is presently in the committee stage and gets its third and final reading on July 15th.

Christian TV Recaps House Of Lords Vote

Church Of England Surrenders On Marriage

The Church of England today formally announced that it will no longer object to Britain's same-sex marriage bill as it has become apparent to them that a clear majority of Parliament supports it.

In a short statement, the established Church said that the scale of the majorities in both the Commons and Lords made clear that it is the will of Parliament that same sex couples “should” be allowed to marry. The Bishop of Leicester, who leads the bishops in the House of Lords, said they would now concentrate their efforts on “improving” rather than halting an historic redefinition of marriage. 

It represents a dramatic change of tack in the year since the Church insisted that gay marriage posed one of the biggest threats of disestablishment of the Church of England since the reign of Henry VIII. And it comes despite a warning from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, that the redefinition of marriage would undermine the “cornerstone” of society. The climb-down comes as the newest diocesan bishop in the Church of England said that support for gay marriage was “understandable” because of the way gay people had been treated in Britain in the past.

Also announced today was that the Church of England will work through its bishops in the House of Lords to introduce a gay adultery clause into the marriage bill.

Under the current bill people in a same-sex marriages who discover that their spouse is unfaithful to them would not be able to divorce for adultery after Government legal experts failed to agree what constitutes “sex” between gay or lesbian couples. The bishops are also seeking to change a provision which says that when a lesbian woman in a same-sex marriage has a baby her spouse is not also classed as the baby’s parent. The result is that in some cases children would be classed as having only one parent.

Here is today's official statement from the Bishop of Leicester:

“Both Houses of Parliament have now expressed a clear view by large majorities on the principle that there should be legislation to enable same-sex marriages to take place in England and Wales. It is now the duty and responsibility of the Bishops who sit in the House of Lords to recognise the implications of this decision and to join with other Members in the task of considering how this legislation can be put into better shape.

“The concerns of many in the Church, and in the other denominations and faiths, about the wisdom of such a move have been expressed clearly and consistently in the Parliamentary debate. For the Bishops the issue now is not primarily one of protections and exemptions for people of faith, important though it is to get that right, not least where teaching in schools and freedom of speech are concerned.

“The Bill now requires improvement in a number of other key respects, including in its approach to the question of fidelity in marriage and the rights of children. If this Bill is to become law, it is crucial that marriage as newly defined is equipped to carry within it as many as possible of the virtues of the understanding of marriage it will replace. Our focus during Committee and Report stages in the coming weeks and months will be to address those points in a spirit of constructive engagement.”

British Hate Group Has The Sadz

"Many of us might be feeling deflated today after the defeat of Lord Dear's amendment in the House of Lords last night. Please don't be. Our hope is in the Lord. The battle belongs to the Lord. He knows the end from the beginning. Let's wait upon him and see what he has for us to do next." That sounds a lot like surrender, dunnit?

Outside The House Of Lords Yesterday

Opposing groups prayed and rallied outside the House of Lords yesterday as the marriage bill was considered. The anti-gay group kept their backs turned on the LGBT camp when the big moment came (At the 3:00 mark.)

Marriage Passes In House Of Lords On Voice Vote, Bill Proceeds To Committee

The Guardian reports:

The Lords voted by 390 votes to 148 to reject an attempt by Lord Dear, a crossbencher, to defeat the bill at second reading. It is very unusual for the Lords to block a bill at second reading and some peers may have been voting against Dear because they were opposed to the idea of the Lords trying to obstruct legislation in this way, not because they were great supporters of the bill. But the size of the majority means the bill must now be certain to become law. However, it is still likely that attempts will be made to amend it in the Lords, in particular to strengthen the protection available to churches who do not want to conduct gay weddings. Lady Stowell, a government whip, told peers in her wind-up speech that the government would not necessarily object to amendments of this kind.

Once again, here's the road map for British bills.

LIVE VIDEO: House Of Lords

The final comments are being made at the House of Lords in advance of the vote on marriage, which could come around 2PM Eastern.  Watch live here. The Lord speaking at this writing (above) just announced that he will vote for the "wrecking amendment" to stop the bill from coming to a vote.

UPDATE: JMG reader Mike directs us to the Guardian's live blog of the proceedings.

UPDATE II: With a pro-gay shout of "Not Content" about the "wrecking amendment," the Lords are now about to vote on it. Watch live here.  Watchers on Twitter are encouraged.

UPDATE III: The "wrecking amendment" to stop marriage bill in its tracks has been DEFEATED by a vote of 390-148!!! Hail Britannia!  It should be noted that some Lords are said to have opposed the amendment only to maintain the principle that all bills deserve an actual vote.

House Of Lords May Hear "Wrecking Amendment" To Stop Marriage Bill

The House of Lords will vote today on marriage equality. The session is scheduled to begin at 9:30AM Eastern and the vote might come some time around 2:00PM. Watch live here. Today's is the critical second reading of the bill and the BBC reports on Lord Geoffrey Dear's proposed "wrecking amendment" to stop the bill from coming to a vote:

The bill, which has been criticised by Conservative activists, is expected to face a tough passage through the Lords. If crossbench peer Lord Dear's amendment, aimed at preventing the legislation getting a second reading, were passed, it would effectively kill it. The former chief constable of West Midlands Police told peers the bill was "ill-considered" and sought to "overturn centuries of tradition".  It was "blind to the laws of unintended consequences", he added, calling homosexuals "a very small minority". Lord Dear also said: "The concept should be sent back to the drawing board. This is too serious a matter to be hurried through on a whim and in a cavalier fashion." But equalities minister Baroness Stowell of Beeston said: "For gay and lesbian couples this matters. It matters because it means the final acceptance of who they are."

LIVE VIDEO: The House Of Lords Debates Britain's Same-Sex Marriage Bill

The debate has begun. Watch it here.  The Lord speaking at this writing is denouncing the  "redefinition of an ancient institution to benefit a miniscule minority." He added, "Marriage between a man and a woman predates nations and predates laws." And gay marriage in Spain is causing the demise of opposite marriage. And something about school children "being forced to act out gay weddings in class."  Blah, blah, blah.

BRITAIN: Bishops May Abstain On Marriage Vote In The House Of Lords

Britain's right-leaning Telegraph reports:

Despite vocal opposition from the Church to the Government’s plans to allow same-sex couples to marry, it is understood that senior officials have personally urged bishops to stay away from this week’s vote. They fear that a large bloc of clerics turning up to vote down the bill could rebound on the Church, reopening questions over the right of bishops to sit in the Lords and even raise the prospect of disestablishment.

They have also told bishops privately that they are convinced the bill, which includes legal “locks” to prevent clergy being forced to carry out same-sex weddings against their beliefs, is the “best” they could hope to achieve. It comes amid warnings of a “dangerous” constitutional stand-off between the Commons and the Lords if peers vote to reject the bill, which has already received strong backing from MPs.

The Church of England seats 26 bishops in the House Of Lords, which presently has about 750 members. Debate continues today and the vote is expected tomorrow.

LIVE VIDEO: The House of Lords comes into session at 2:30pm local time (9:30am NYC time) and there will be a live video stream here.