Wealthy gay activist, Barrie Drewitt-Barlow, says he and his civil partner Tony will go to court to force churches to host gay weddings.
He told the Essex Chronicle that he will take legal action because “I am still not getting what I want. The only way forward for us now is to make a challenge in the courts against the church. It is a shame that we are forced to take Christians into a court to get them to recognise us. As much as people are saying this is a good thing I am still not getting what I want.”
A bill legalising gay marriage passed the British Parliament recently. Like Illinois' gay marriage legislation, it included measures to protect churches from being forced to perform same-sex weddings.
However, legal experts cautioned that the British bill left the Church of England open to legal challenge. In June 2012 a Justice Minister admitted that the government’s plans could lead to legal issues. He said the government is “seeking to protect, indeed, proscribe religious organisations from offering gay marriage”, but he continued: “That may be problematic legally”.
