California Governor Jerry Brown is
calling on lawmakers in Scotland to lead on the issue of gay
marriage.
The Scottish government earlier this
week confirmed it would announce on July 10 its decision on whether
to move forward with legislation which would legalize gay marriage in
the nation.
Brown, a Democrat who as state attorney
general refused to defend Proposition 8, California's gay marriage
ban, told the
BBC that Scotland would benefit from looking at how the issue
evolved in California.
“There was certainly opposition to
same-sex marriage a decade ago, but very regularly this opposition
has declined. So, I would say today maybe there is even a slight
majority in favor of same-sex marriage,” he explained.
“Our job is not to give brilliant
speeches only, but it is also to lead the people and get them to
follow and so that is a matter where, each leader in each community,
has to make their own decision,” Brown added.
The decision in Scotland comes more
than half a year after it closed its public consultation on marriage
equality, which generated over 50,000 responses.