Same-sex marriage campaign’s Valentine’s Day protest at Scottish Parliament

MORE than 1,000 campaigners for same-sex marriage marched to Holyrood yesterday.

The demonstration began on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and featured a giant Valentine’s Day card to First Minister Alex Salmond with the message: “Roses are white, thistles are blue, we believe in equal marriage and we hope the Scottish Government will too!”

Marchers from the Equality Network, NUS Scotland, Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transsexual Youth Scotland and Stonewall Scotland, took part with Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament as part of its Love Equally Campaign.

Currently, same-sex couples can enter into a civil partnership but cannot get married. The Scottish Government has consulted on whether the law should be changed and has said it “tends towards the view” that same-sex marriage should be introduced, but faith groups should not be obliged to solemnise it.

A rally was addressed by Youth Parliament chair Grant Costello, SNP MSP Marco Biagi, Patrick Harvie, co-leader of the Greens, and Marilyn Jackson, of the Humanist Society of Scotland.