Campaign urges Church of England to allow gay couples to marry in its buildings

Equal, the Campaign for Equal Marriage in the Church of England, want same-gender couples to be able to get married in parishes across the country.

Rev Andrew Foreshew-Cain, one of the team members leading the campaign, told Premier the significance behind Friday’s launch date.

“Today is the fifth anniversary of the wedding of Cannon Jeremy Pemberton to Laurence Cunnington – the first marriage of a Church of England priest to a same-sex partner.

“On their anniversary day, we thought we would launch the campaign, congratulate them on their happy marriage and to celebrate all the marriages that have been made possible since the change in the law.”

The group says the “consciences of everyone should be protected” and “no member of the clergy should be forced to conduct a marriage they disagree with, but also no member of the clergy should be prevented from celebrating a marriage involving a same-gender couple”.

However, the Coalition of Marriage, which supports traditional marriage and opposes its redefinition, thinks the campaign will have the opposite effect.

Colin Hart, the group’s chairman told Premier: “It will destroy the freedoms of everybody else.

“The problem is this – although that’s not what they intend, it will completely smash the ‘quad lock’ to smithereens.

“The reason for that is, the Church of England is the…