Sir John Stanley, a member of the
Conservative Party, has said he voted against a proposed gay marriage
bill in the British House of Commons because being gay is a normal
“phase” for young people.
The bill cleared the Commons on Tuesday
after nearly six hours of debate.
(Related: British
House of Commons gives initial nod to gay marriage bill.)
While Prime Minister David Cameron, the
head of the Conservative Party, strongly backed the measure, less
than half of Commons Conservatives agreed with him. An outcome which
has some predicting losses for the party in 2015.
Among those who voted against the
government's plan was Stanley, who, in explaining his vote to his
constituents, said the law would be “in some cases positively
damaging.”
“I consider that enshrining gay
marriage into law will be unhelpful, and in some cases positively
damaging, to young people going through the perfectly normal phase of
being attracted to other young people of the same sex before arriving
at a heterosexual orientation subsequently,” the 71-year-old
Stanley
wrote.