Tories advocate gay marriage

Not joking:

The Government is to legislate for same-sex marriages before the next general election. A public consultation on how to make civil marriage available to same-sex couples is to be launched in March of next year. [...] A No 10 source hinted that the Prime Minister had also had to overcome opposition within the Government to ensure it went through. "It is something that was in our equalities manifesto at the election and it is something the PM has been pushing for," the source said.

In the United States, the husband of a leading presidential candidate operates a business intent on 'converting' gay people to heterosexuality. When one considers this high-ranking bigotry, what the Conservatives have done in Britain is really rather extraordinary. Although happiness must be expressed for those waiting for marriage equality to come to Britain, the most interesting question concerns the attitudes of the GOP on the issue – a party which has long modeled itself on the traditional values of its (once Churchill and Thatcher, now Cameron-led) British counterpart. Ben Jacobs considers the effect on American conservatism:

In contrast, it’s too soon to tell what reaction prominent Republicans, who idolize Thatcher and have busts of Churchill on their desks, will have. If nothing else, it will make it awkward to praise Cameron’s foreign and fiscal policies on one hand while still condemning his assault on traditional marriage. Despite the historical ties between the two parties, the shift by the British Conservatives to support same-sex marriage probably won’t lead to a sudden change of heart in the GOP. But their reversal shows how the political momentum for same-sex marriage is growing in the Western world, and signals that the Republican Party’s stance is growing increasingly out of step with even its closest ideological peers. 

I agree with Jacobs: the move won't affect the GOP to any great degree – but it might just send them a message.