Parliament voted in July to impose same-sex marriage and abortion on Northern Ireland, with no say given to the people of the province.
The decision will be implemented unless the Northern Ireland Executive comes to a power-sharing agreement by 21 October, which is considered unlikely.
“A coach and horses were driven through devolution”
Coalition for Marriage commented that a routine bill was “hijacked” when “the Labour opposition effectively gave an ultimatum to the government: open it (the Northern Ireland Bill) up to amendments on gay marriage and abortion or risk losing the Bill entirely. “Government ministers seemed very happy to oblige. And a coach and horses were driven through devolution.
“Astonishingly even the SNP – who never vote on matters not affecting Scotland – broke their cardinal rule to help impose same-sex marriage on Northern Ireland.”
The Bill’s full name is the Northern Ireland Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions Bill – or Northern Ireland Bill for short.
Tim Dieppe, Head of Public Policy at Christian Concern, said: “This amounts to a form of cultural imperialism where values are imposed on the people.”