Will gays get access to marriage in Britain?

The Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales have raised hefty objections to a government’s proposal to introduce the possibility for gays to get married.  According to the Churches, same-sex marriage leads to a fundamental change of values regarding a hundreds of years existing social institute. As for the government, they reassure that the Churches will not have to conduct themselves single-sex marriages. Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall, is irate about the attitude of the Church of England. He claims that three in five people in Britain are positive about gay marriage, and therefore have no right to oppose in such a ‘melodramatic scaremongering’ way.

I do not understand the point of view of the Churches. Their main concern should be Christian charity and as a consequence they ought to be glad to seal any bond of love between human beings, regardless their sexes.  A few months ago, I spoke to a religious person about this issue and was surprised to hear her say that she was worried because of the slippery slope: once you allow same-sex marriage, many others will follow and there will be no more offspring at the end...I think this is a real fallacy!

PM under pressure over gay marriage / The Indenpendent 12 June 2012
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/pm-under-pressure-over-gay-marriage-7844369.html

Suicide in Scotland

Researchers in Scotland have found out that suicide rate in Scotland is far higher than in other parts of the UK. Between 2000 and 2006 suicide rates were 79 % higher than in England and for young people even twice as high. How come? Just recently researchers studied the data of the causes which lead to suicide. They report it to be likely that the way patients and doctors coop with mental illness causes a higher rate of suicide. Instead of psychosocial interventions doctors in Scotland tend more easily to prescribe medication for anxiety or depression. However, thanks to action taken by the Scottish government, suicide rates have already started decreasing.

I think it is horrible that people in Scotland have not enough access to professional support while they are suffering from psychological problems. Especially, as it is proven by scientific research that this leads to more suicide among (young) people. Fortunately, the Scottish government is working on a better quality of psychological services for their inhabitants. Besides improving the quality of mental health services, the government also takes it responsibility to increase the amount of professional staff, who can offer a proper treatment to people coping with mental illnesses.

Call for action to tackle 'Scottish effect' on suicide rates / BBC news 10 June 2012 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-18374755