Nick: let churches conduct same-sex marriages

In an interview with the 'Evening Standard' ahead of Saturday's World LGBT Pride in London, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg argues religious organisations should be free to conduct same-sex weddings if they wish.

He told the paper, "This is a personal view at the moment, but I think that in exactly the same way that we shouldn't force any church to conduct gay marriage, we shouldn't stop any church that wants to."

"I don't see why two individuals who love each other and want to show commitment to each other should not be able to do so in a way that is socially recognised as being marriage."

He concludes: "...once the dust settles everyone will look back and think, 'what on earth was the controversy about? It just seems a perfectly natural thing to do'."

(Thanks to LGBT+ LibDems for this story, first published at lgbt.libdems.org.uk)