The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that same-sex marriage is not a human right and concluded that “if gay couples are allowed to marry, any church that offers weddings will be guilty of discrimination if it declines to marry same-sex couples.” The decision throws a wrench into the British government’s plan to legalize marriage equality, as it has maintained that “no church would have to conduct gay weddings.”
“The European Convention on Human Rights does not require member states’ governments to grant same-sex couples access to marriage,” the court found in a case “involving a lesbian couple in a civil partnership who complained the French courts would not allow them to adopt a child as a couple.” It argued that civil unions are comparable to marriage:
‘With regard to married couples, the court considers that in view of the social, personal, and legal consequences of marriage, the applicants’ legal situation could not be said to be comparable to that of married couples.’
Opponents of extending marriage to gays and lesbians have already seized on the ruling, arguing that “The ruling from the ECHR will embolden those whose concerns about same-sex marriage and adoption are not inspired by personal hatred and animosity, but by a genuine concern for the well-being of children and the welfare of society.” Earlier this week, “Muslim and Sikh groups said legalizing gay unions was ‘unnecessary and unhelpful’ after Christian leaders had spoken out against the plans.”