Peter Tatchell returned from his historic meeting with the new Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby on April 18th 2013 with a mixed message. He told a press gathering that the Archbishop accepted opposite sex civil partnerships. However, according to Tatchell, he can’t allow same sex couples to marry because there is an “intrinsic difference in the nature of same sex relationships”.
The Archbishop also refused to accept that opposition to same sex marriage amounted to discrimination.
Peter Tatchell added: “I got the impression that he wants to support gay equality but feels bound by church tradition. He accepts that discrimination is not a Christian value but can’t bring himself to state publicly that banning gay couples from getting married is discrimination and wrong.”