The Northern Ireland Assembly has rejected proposed legislation on same-sex marriage for the fourth time.
Following a debate on the latest Private Members’ Motion on the issue, which had been tabled by four Sinn Fein members, MLAs voted 49 to 47 against the motion, with three abstentions.
On party lines, all Sinn Fein and SDLP MLAs voted in favour of the legislation, while all Democratic Unionist Party members voted against. Just one of the Ulster Unionist Party’s MLAs was in favour of the motion. The three abstentions were from the Alliance Party, with five other party members voting in favour.
Accusing Sinn Fein of a ‘hidden agenda in proposing the same-sex marriage motion, the DUP’s Arlene Foster said: “To the gay community, I say, I respect you. In many individual cases you are my friends and I enjoy social fellowship, but don’t allow Sinn Féin to suck you into their agenda.”
Reacting to the vote outcome, a spokesman for the Christian Institute said: “This is now the fourth time in three years this motion has been defeated. We’re thankful to those MLAs who have resisted this constant and co-ordinated pressure from activists to redefine marriage.”
