Round-Up: Gay Marriage, An Autism Group, And Street Signs

February 6th 2013

Gay marriage

On 5th of February the House of Commons voted on the government's bill to allow same-sex couples to get married. Sir Peter Tapsell, the MP for Louth and Horncastle, was one of the MPs who voted against allowing this, going against the wishes of his party in this case.

Now, this is the point that I might get upset and start ranting about the homophobia suggested in Sir Peter's stance, or the weakness of the arguments against allowing people equal rights. But then I started to wonder exactly how many people this will affect. Will we get a rush of homosexuals demanding to get married now that they can call it marriage instead of civil partnership? A few, maybe, will choose to go down that route, and they should have that right. But data from the 2011 census shows a decline in marriage, from 51% of the population of England and Wales to 47%, and only 0,2% were in civil partnerships, or 105,000. So we're probably only talking about a fraction of the number of people in civil partnerships now who might be inclined to act on this new freedom.

All of this begs the question, what is the point of this bill, now? It begins to look less like a vital extension of equality, and much more like a distraction from the real issues, a way to stop us talking about the impending council tax benefit changes, the rising cost of everything, or the stagnant economy.

Waste

Talking of the economy, what's with these street sign replacements in St Mary's Lane, pictured left? A group of workmen turned up and replaced one of the old signs with a new, slightly smaller one which no longer mentions Grimsby. The difference is minimal, so I can't figure out why a group of workmen had to come out and change it.

New autism group

Ray Smith has started a new support group for the parents and carers of people with autism. Their first meeting will be at the Trinity Centre on Saturday 13th April, and afterwards they will meet monthly.

Charity day

Louth Graduate Salon on Aswell Street are holding a fundraising day in aid of cancer research today, Wednesday 6th of February. They will be offering face paints, mini manicures and baked goods in order to raise funds for the cause.