It’s an ongoing debate whether or whether not it’s right to legalize gay marriage. In the UK the government is trying to decide this month if same-sex marriage will soon be legal in Britain.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who converted to Catholicism in 2007, is supporting the government’s plans to legalize gay marriage before 2015. But his statement has drawn a lot of sharp criticism from the leaders of both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England.
The Church of England even intensified its effort to stop the legalization of gay marriage and urged the faithful to help and protect the “true meaning” of matrimony. Archbishop Vincent Nichols and Archbishop Peter Smith wrote a letter which was read in over 2,500 churches during Sunday Mass reminding the church members as well that: “The law helps to shape and form cultural values. A change in the law would gradually and inevitably transform society’s understanding of the purpose of marriage.”
Peter Tatchell, gay rights campaigner, sees the Church effort to stop the legalization of gay marriage in a different light. “They want the law to discriminate against gay couples. Discrimination is not a Christian value.”
But now somebody else takes sides in this ongoing debate. The world-famous ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s is supporting the legalization of gay marriage. To show their support Ben & Jerry’s partnerships with gay rights organization Stonewall and renamed their “Oh My! Apple Pie” ice cream to “Apple-y Ever After”. “Because everyone is equal and deserves to live Apple-y Ever After” says the company’s statement.
For the same reason Ben & Jerry’s also redesigned the package of “Apple-y Ever After” ice cream. Instead of an apple pie on the front, now a wedding cake with two grooms on top is showing. A strong statement for an ice cream factory but it’s not the first time Ben & Jerry’s shows its support for same-sex marriage. In 2009 Ben & Jerry’s renamed its “Chubby Hubby” ice cream to “Hubby Hubby” to celebrate gay marriage legalization in its home state Vermont.
But gay marriage supporting ice cream or not, the debate is ongoing and not just in the UK. Also in the US, the gay marriage lobby and opponents are arguing over what is right and what is wrong. It’s a long way to make everyone equal.
