British consulate to perform same-sex ‘weddings’ in 24 nations that uphold marriage
LONDON, May 11, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The British government is performing homosexual "marriages" at the British consulates in 24 countries that preserve the traditional definition of marriage, even though none of those ceremonies will be legally recognized in the nations in question.
The Consular Marriages and Marriages under Foreign Law Order 2014 , which went into effect last June 3, means that British Consulates in the following nations will perform same-sex "marriages" as long as one of the partners is a British citizen: Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Cambodia, Chile, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Serbia, and Vietnam.
A government press release notes that, "this list of countries is limited, because British missions are only able to provide a same sex 'marriage' service in countries where it is not possible for British nationals to have such a marriage under local law and where the local authorities have given permission for the missions to conduct consular marriages of same sex couples."
British consulates in three of those two dozen countries – Australia, China, and the Dominican Republic – have already conducted same-sex "marriages" under the new law.
However, none of these marriages are legally recognized in the listed countries.
A spokesman for Australian Attorney-General George Brandis said at the time that the government had "informed the British High Commission that it has no objections to officers from the British High Commission solemnizing same-sex marriages on consular grounds...if at least one person of the marrying couple is a British national," but emphasized that these "marriages" would not be recognized as valid marriages in Australia.
Click "like" if you want to defend true marriage.
While mainland China has acquiesced to the British directive, the special administrative region of Hong Kong flatly refused to allow the same-sex "marriage" anywhere on its territory.
"Unfortunately, the Hong Kong government has raised an objection to the solemnization of same-sex marriages in Hong Kong," a spokeswoman at the British consulate told the South China Morning Post.
Hong Kong decriminalized homosexuality in 1991 while it was still a British protectorate, but it gives no legal recognition to homosexual couples.