Lawrence O'Donnell on the UK's Marriage Equality Vote and the Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name: VIDEO

In a segment on The Last Word, Lawrence O'Donnell lauded the UK House of Commons vote this week to approve marriage equality, highlighting the story of Oscar Wilde, imprisoned for "gross indecency" for homosexuality 118 years ago, referencing a poem Wilde wrote while jailed there.

Said O'Donnell:

"Tonight in England, Oscar Wilde would not have to hide in clefts in the rocks and would not have to weep in secret valleys.”

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Jon Stewart Mocks the UK Parliament's Gay Marriage Debate: VIDEO

Jon Stewart looks at the UK's marriage equality debate versus the one in the United States and notes that it lacks a certain omniscient all-powerful being.

"Tories, I know the stakes are lower over there because Britain doesn't have hurricanes every time two dudes kiss, but try it once more, and this time put some feeling into it!...Five hours of debate and not one mention of the slippery slope of incestuous pedophile orgies?"

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Let's All Watch UK MP David Lammy Blow Anti-Gay Bigotry Away: 'Separate But Equal is a Fraud!' - VIDEO

UK Labour MP David Lammy gave one of the most impassioned speeches during yesterday's debate that led to the House of Commons approval of the marriage equality bill.

Check it out, AFTER THE JUMP...

Said Lammy:

Let me speak frankly.

“Separate but equal” is a fraud. Separate but equal” is the language that tried to push Rosa Parks to the back of the bus. Separate but equal” is the motif that determined that black and white could not possibly drink from the same water fountain, eat at the same table or use the same toilets. “Separate but equal” are the words that justified sending black children to different schools from their white peers – schools that would fail them and condemn them to a life of poverty.

It is an excerpt from the phrasebook of the segregationists and the racists. It is the same statement, the same ideas and the same delusion that we borrowed in this country to say that women could vote – but not until they were 30. It is the same naivety that gave made my dad a citizen in 1956 but refused to condemn the landlords that proclaimed “no blacks, no Irish, no dogs”. It entrenched who we were, who our friends could be and what our lives could become.

This was not “Separate but equal” but “Separate AND discriminated”,

 “Separate AND oppressed”.

 “Separate AND browbeaten”.

 “Separate AND subjugated”.

Separate is NOT equal, so let us be rid of it.

Because as long as there is one rule for us and another for them, we allow the barriers to acceptance to stand unchallenged. As long as our statute books suggest that the love between two men or two women is unworthy of being recognised through marriage, we allow the rot of homophobia to fester.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Britain's Changing Attitudes Toward Homosexuality: VIDEO

An awesome clip from Channel 4 on the heels of yesterday's historic marriage equality vote in Parliament which covers the changing attitude towards gay people across the pond, in politics and pop culture.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

In related news, some legal inequalities will remain under marriage equality legislation, the Guardian reports:

Those who draft the parliamentary bills have been unable to define what constitutes consummation of a same-sex union. Consequently there is no provision for divorce on the grounds of non-consummation of a gay marriage.

That problem also means that same-sex couples who wish to divorce will not be able to cite adultery with someone of the same sex – the civil servants similarly struggled to find a definition of adultery between two men or two women.

Adultery will, nonetheless, be a permitted grounds for divorce if it follows sexual intercourse between one of the couple and someone of the opposite sex. That, at least, is consistent with existing marriage laws: if a man decides he is gay and leaves his wife for a man, she can divorce him for unreasonable behaviour but not adultery, which is defined as sexual intercourse.

(clip via jmg)

UK House of Commons Approves Marriage Equality 400-175 in Key Vote

The British House of Commons has just voted 400 -175 to approve marriage equality on a second reading of the bill.

Related votes are continuing LIVE here (budget, etc)...

Labour Party leader Ed Milliband released a statement:

This is a proud day and an important step forward in the fight for equality in Britain. The overwhelming majority of Labour MPs supported this change to make sure marriage reflects the value we place on long-term, loving relationships whoever you love. Equal marriage builds on Labour’s successes in government which include the repeal of Section 28, equalising the age of consent, the introduction of civil partnerships and changes to the rules governing adoption.

Guardian live blog here.

UK gay rights group Stonewall:

MPs have voted by a majority of 225 in favour of the new Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill. The Bill will extend the legal form of marriage to lesbian, gay and bisexual people and permit religious denominations to celebrate such marriages should they wish.

Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill said: ‘As the last piece of the legislative jigsaw providing equality for gay people in Britain, this is a truly historic step forward. We’re absolutely delighted that MPs have demonstrated so overwhelmingly that they’re in touch with the twenty-first century.

‘We anticipate, as always, a tough battle in the House of Lords. Happily, the size of the Commons majority seen tonight – much larger than for most normal Government business – will make it very difficult for peers to suggest that the Bill should be rejected.

‘Most people in Britain support equal marriage and will be delighted that we’re now a step closer to it. We’re grateful to the thousands of Stonewall supporters, many of them straight, who played a big part by contacting their MPs in support.'

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill will now go into Commons Committee Stage and is likely to progress to the House of Lords after the Queen’s Speech, expected in early May.

Skeleton Found Under UK Parking Lot is King Richard III's

The remains of King Richard III, who died in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth, have been identified. They were discovered under a car park in Leicester, UK.

The Guardian reports:

Tests have established that a skeleton found under a car park in Leicester is that of Richard III, king of England from 1483-85. Richard Buckley, the lead archaeologist on the project at the University of Leicester, said that his team had proved “beyond reasonable doubt” that the bones were those of the last Plantagenet king.

DNA evidence from the skeleton matches with that from Michael Ibsen, a Canadian who is a direct descendent of Richard’s sister Anne of York. In addition, evidence of battle wounds on the skeleton, and features of the remains such as their curved spine, provide a “highly convincing case” for this being Richard, Leicester’s Dr Jo Appleby said.

His death was probably caused by one of two injuries to the base of the skull, both inflicted with a bladed weapon, Appleby said.

Richard’s body will be reinterred in Leicester Cathedral, probably early next year. A temporary exhibition will open there on 8 February, followed by a permanent visitors’ centre telling the story of Richard’s life and death. A £10,000 donation for a new tomb for the monarch has already been received by the Richard III Society.