Out4Marriage is a 'multi-platform' political campaign that was started on 8 May 2012 in response to the British Government's consultation concerning the legalisation of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. It centres on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

—and other social media—videos in which those filmed give their views on why they support marriage for same-sex individuals, with each video finishing with the tagline "And that's why I'm out for marriage. Are you?". Creators of the videos have included members of the public,

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

peers Peers may refer to: People * Donald Peers * Edgar Allison Peers, English academician * Gavin Peers * John Peers, Australian tennis player * Kerry Peers * Mark Peers * Michael Peers * Steve Peers * Teddy Peers (1886–1935), Welsh international ...

and celebrities. Its goal is to raise awareness about the issue of equal marriage and to provide a voice for the people who support it. Out4Marriage is modelled on the

It Gets Better It or IT may refer to: * It (pronoun), in English * Information technology Arts and media Film and television * ''It'' (1927 film), a film starring Clara Bow * ''It! The Terror from Beyond Space'', a 1958 science fiction film * ''It!'' (1967 f ...

YouTube project, launched by US LGBT activist

Dan Savage Daniel Keenan Savage (born October 7, 1964) is an American author, media pundit, journalist, and LGBT community activist. He writes ''Savage Love'', an internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column. In 2010, Savage and his husba ...

, where politicians, celebrities and members of the public gave hope to teenagers coming to terms with their sexuality.

Campaign background and history

The British Government's consultation on equal marriage was started on 15 March 2012, prompting the launch of a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

campaign group called the

Coalition for Marriage The Coalition for Marriage, often abbreviated to C4M, is a Christian campaign group in the United Kingdom that opposes same-sex marriage. Founded in February 2012, the Coalition for Marriage is the main campaign group against same-sex marriage ...

(C4M). The website for C4M states that they are "''an umbrella group of individuals and organisations in the UK that support traditional marriage and oppose any plans to redefine it.''". As part of the

British Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

's consultations on the introduction of

in the UK, Out4Marriage's Directors of Campaigns James-J Walsh assisted by Joseph Musgrove, a volunteer who went on to work for the Conservative equal marriage campaign wrote the official submission document calling for legislation to allow same-sex religious marriage, enhanced spousal pension rights, and courtesy titles for peers. The Out4Marriage website states that the campaign was conceived by Buonaiuto and

Pink News ''PinkNews'' is a UK-based online newspaper marketed to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (LGBT) in the UK and worldwide. It was founded by Benjamin Cohen in 2005. It closely follows political progress on LGBT rights aro ...

founder, Benjamin Cohen, however since the initial video Buonaiuto moved away to other projects. The website also posits that a “''global team of volunteers are helping to recruit new video makers, moderate submissions and engage with politicians''”. In the first week, the Out4Marriage campaign received considerable press coverage.

Home coming

Prior to the Out4Marriage campaign launching, a short-film was created called ''Homecoming'', depicting the proposal of a gay soldier to his partner, upon returning home from war. The film received 700,000 YouTube views in its first week online. In a

BBC World News BBC World News is an international English-language pay television network, operated under the ''BBC Global News Limited'' division of the BBC, which is a public corporation of the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and S ...

interview on 11 May 2012, Buonaiuto explained that ''Homecoming'' was what had inspired Out4Marriage. He went on to say that those working on the campaign were all volunteers and that no money had been spent on the project.

LobbyALord

In the run up to the Lords debate in the wake of Lord Dear proposing effectively a deletion amendment, James-J Walsh led on the campaigning activity to engage the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

, he designed the very first platform for being able to digitally engage

Peers Peers may refer to: People * Donald Peers * Edgar Allison Peers, English academician * Gavin Peers * John Peers, Australian tennis player * Kerry Peers * Mark Peers * Michael Peers * Steve Peers * Teddy Peers (1886–1935), Welsh international ...

within the House of Lords. As part of this Walsh recruited Chris Ward, a web developer, to build an online peers lobbying site that enabled ordinary people to connect with often unaccountable Lords and Baronesses. The Site www.LobbyALord.org was receiving traffic resulting at peeks an email being sent to a peer every 8 seconds in the 72 hours before the debate, after endorsements by

Grindr Grindr () is a location-based social networking and online dating application targeted towards members of the gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community. It was one of the first geosocial apps for gay men when it launched in March 2009 an ...

a gay mobile dating app, who issued a message to 1 million of its members, and

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

via his Twitter account.

Notable contributions

Within the first three weeks after the campaign was launched, videos were uploaded to the Out4Marriage YouTube account from public figures such as

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields. Branson expressed ...

, UK pop girl band

The Saturdays The Saturdays were a British-Irish girl group based in London, England. The group formed during the summer of 2007 and have been on hiatus since 2014. The lineup consists of Frankie Bridge, Una Healy, Rochelle Humes, Mollie King, and Vanessa Wh ...

and human rights campaigner,

Peter Tatchell Peter Gary Tatchell (born 25 January 1952) is a British human rights campaigner, originally from Australia, best known for his work with LGBT social movements. Tatchell was selected as the Labour Party's parliamentary candidate for Bermondsey ...

. Many Members of Parliament also recorded videos for the campaign, including the then Home Secretary,

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...

; Former Equalities minister

Lynne Featherstone Lynne Choona Featherstone, Baroness Featherstone, (''née'' Ryness; born 20 December 1951) is a British politician, businesswoman and Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords. Prior to entering politics, Featherstone was a successful bus ...

and former cabinet minister,

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary ...

List of contributions from public figures and personalities

Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British media executive and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who has been president for global affairs at Meta Platforms since 2022, having previously been vicepr ...

, Former Deputy Prime Minister (2010-2015) and former Leader of the Liberal Democrats *

Ed Miliband Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliband ...

, Former Leader of the Labour Party (2010-2015) *

, Former Home Secretary and Minister for Women & Equalities, Former Prime Minister (2016-2019) * William Bain, Former Shadow Minister for Scotland *

Tom Blenkinsop Thomas Francis Blenkinsop (born 14 August 1980) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland from 2010 to 2017. A member of the Labour Party, he was an Opposition Whip under Ed Mil ...

, Former Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (2010-2017) *

Crispin Blunt Crispin Jeremy Rupert Blunt (born 15 July 1960) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Reigate since 1997. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prisons and ...

, Conservative MP for Reigate since 1997 *

Michael Cashman Michael Maurice Cashman, Baron Cashman (born 17 December 1950), is a British actor, politician, and LGBT rights activist. A member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands from 1999 to 2014. H ...

, Former Labour MEP for West Midlands *

Yvette Cooper Yvette Cooper (born 20 March 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department, Shadow Home Secretary since 2021, and previously from 2011 to 2015. She served in Gordon Brown's Brown ministry, Cabinet as ...

, Former Shadow Home Secretary and Labour MP for Normaton since 2001 *

Former Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Equalities and Former Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey and Wood Green (2005-2015) * Stephen Gilbert Former Liberal Democrat MP for St Austell and Newquay (2005-2015) *

Beverley Knight Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English recording artist and musical theatre actress. She released her first album, ''The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke and ...

, Singer *

Caroline Lucas Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who has twice led the Green Party of England and Wales and has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Pavilion since the 2010 general election. She was re-elected ...

Former Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales and MP for Brighton Pavilion since 2010 *

Fiona MacTaggart Fiona Margaret Mactaggart (born 12 September 1953) is a British politician and former primary school teacher who has been chair of the Fawcett Society since 2018. A member of the Labour Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) for Slough from 1 ...

, Former Labour MP for Slough (1997-2017) *

, UK pop group *

, US Author and creator of the It Gets Better campaign * Chris Smith Former Secretary of State for Culture, Media, Sport *

Former MP for Blackburn, former cabinet minister * Sir Desmond Swayne Former Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and MP for *

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

, Former Mayor of London (2008-2016) and Prime Minister since 2019 *

Anna Soubry Anna Mary Soubry (; born 7 December 1956) is a British barrister, journalist and former politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Broxtowe from 2010 to 2019. Known for her support of pro-European policies, she was originally elected a ...

, Former MP for Broxtowe (2010-2019), Former Government Minister and Former Leader of

Change UK The Independent Group for Change, also known as Change UK, was a British centrist, pro-European Union political party, founded in February 2019 and dissolved ten months later, shortly after all its MPs lost their seats in the 2019 general e ...

(2019) *

Danny Alexander Sir Daniel Grian Alexander (born 15 May 1972) is a former politician who was Chief Secretary to the Treasury between 2010 and 2015. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey constituency from 2005 u ...

, Former Labour Member of Parliament and Former Chief Secretary to the Treasury *

Justine Greening Justine Greening (born 30 April 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education from 2016 to 2018. Prior to that, she served as Economic Secretary to the Treasury from 2010 to 2011, Secretary of State for Transport ...

, Former Conservative MP for Putney (2005-2019) and the first openly Lesbian Secretary of State *

David Mundell David Gordon Mundell, (born 27 May 1962) is a Scottish politician and solicitor who served as Secretary of State for Scotland from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Scottish Conservative Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Du ...

, Conservative MP for Clydesdale and Teesadle since 2005 and the first openly gay Secretary of State *

Maria Eagle Maria Eagle (born 17 February 1961) is a British politician who served in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. She later served in the Shadow Cabinets of Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Memb ...

, Labour MP for Wallasey since 2005 *

Maria Miller Dame Maria Frances Miller'MILLER, Rt Hon. Maria (Frances Lewis)', Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2012; online edn, November 2012 ...

, Former Culture Secretary and Conservative MP for Basingstoke since 2005. * Helen Grant, Former Minister for Women & Equalities and Conservative MP for Maidstone & The Weald since 2010 *

Jo Johnson Joseph Edmund Johnson, Baron Johnson of Marylebone, (born 23 December 1971) is a British politician who was Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation from July to September 2019, as well as previously from 2015 to 2 ...

, Brother of Boris and Conservative MP for Orpington (2010-2019) *

Zac Goldsmith Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park, (born 20 January 1975) is a British politician, life peer and journalist serving as Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment si ...

, Conservative MP for Richmond Park (2010-2016) and (2017-2019, Member of the House of Lords since 2020 *

Nick Herbert Nicholas Le Quesne Herbert, Baron Herbert of South Downs, (born 7 April 1963) is a British Conservative Party politician and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Arundel and South Downs from 2005 to 2019. He was Minister of State for Police ...

, Former Conservative MP for Arundel & South Downs (2005-2019), Former Minister and Former Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on LGBT+ Rights *William Bane, Former Labour MP and Shadow Minister for Scotland *

Jo Swinson Joanne Kate Swinson (born 5 February 1980) is a former British Liberal Democrat politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 22 July to 13 December 2019. She was the first woman and the youngest person to hold the position, as well a ...

, Former Leader of the Liberal Democrats (2019) and MP for East Dunbartonshire (2005-2015) and (2017-2019) * Sir Edward Davey, Liberal Democrat MP for Kingston and Surbiton (1997-2015) and (2017-) Leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2020 *

Simon Kirby Simon Gerard Kirby (born 22 December 1964), also known as Simon Radford-Kirby, is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Kemptown in 2010. In 2016, he was appointed ...

, Former Conservative MP for Brighton Kemptown (2010-2017) *

Julian Huppert Julian Leon Huppert (born 21 July 1978) is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom and former Member of Parliament for Cambridge from 2010 to 2015. He succeeded David Howarth, who stood down after one term as an MP. At the 2015 gene ...

, Former Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge (2005-2015) * Steve Williams, Former Liberal Democrat MP for Bristol West, (2005-2015) *

Mike Freer Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

, Conservative MP for Finchley and Golders Green since 2010 * Chris Williamson, Former Labour MP for Derby South (2010-2015) and 2017–19. He was expelled from Labour in 2018, readmitted, then expelled in 2019 *

Tom Brake Thomas Anthony Brake (born 6 May 1962) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Carshalton and Wallington in London from 1997 to 2019. He was appointed Director of the cross party pressure group Unlock ...

, Former Liberal Democrat MP for Carshalton & Wellington (1997-2019) * Geraint Davies, Labour MP for Swansea West since 2010 *

Mike Gapes Michael John Gapes (born 4 September 1952) is a British former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford South from 1992 to 2019. Born in Wanstead Hospital, Gapes attended Buckhurst Hill County High School. He studied ec ...

, Former Labour MP for Ilford South (1997-2019), Former Member of

(2019). *

Kelvin Hopkins Kelvin Peter Hopkins (born 22 August 1941) is a British politician. He was first elected as the Labour Member of Parliament for Luton North in 1997. Hopkins was suspended by the Labour Party in 2017 after allegations of sexual misconduct were ...

, Former Labour MP for Luton South (1997-2019). He was expelled from Labour in 2017. *

David Lammy David Lindon Lammy (born 19 July 1972) is an English politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenh ...

, Labour Member of Parliament for Tottenham since 2000 * Baroness King, Labour Member of the House of Lords * Chris Smith, Labour Member of the House of Lords *

Brian Paddick Brian Leonard Paddick, Baron Paddick (born 24 April 1958), is a British politician and retired police officer, currently sitting in the House of Lords as a life peer. He was the Liberal Democrat candidate for the London mayoral elections of 2 ...

, Liberal Democrat Member of the House of Lords *

, Former Labour Member of European Parliament *

Andrew Boff Andrew Boff (born 14 April 1958) is a British politician who has been Deputy Chair of the London Assembly since May 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served a London-wide Assembly Member (AM) since the 2008 election. Boff served ...

, Conservative Member of the London Assembly since 2008 *

Sarah Wollaston Sarah Wollaston (born 17 February 1962) is a British former Liberal Democrat politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Totnes from 2010 to 2019. First elected for the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party, she later served as ...

, Former Liberal Democrat MP for Totnes (2010-2019) *

Chuka Umunna Chuka Harrison Umunna (; born 17 October 1978) is a British retired politician who served as Member of Parliament (UK), Member of Parliament (MP) for Streatham (UK Parliament constituency), Streatham from 2010 United Kingdom general election, ...

, Former Liberal Democrat MP for Streatham (2010-2019) *

Sam Gyimah Samuel Phillip Gyimah (; born 10 August 1976) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Surrey from 2010 to 2019. First elected as a Conservative, Gyimah rebelled against the government to block a no-deal Bre ...

, Former Liberal Democrat MP for East Surrey (2010-2019) *

Luciana Berger Luciana Clare Berger (; born 13 May 1981) is a British former Member of Parliament who was MP for Liverpool Wavertree from 2010 to 2019. Initially a member of Labour Co-op, in 2019 she left and co-founded The Independent Group, later Change UK ...

, Former Liberal Democrat MP for Liverpool Wavertree (2010-2019) *

Chris Leslie Christopher Michael Leslie (born 28 June 1972) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Shipley from 1997 to 2005 and Nottingham East from 2010 to 2019. A former member of the Labour Party, he defected to form ...

, Former Labour MP for Shipley (1997-2005) and Nottingham South (2010-2019), Former Shadow Chancellor and Deputy Leader of

(2019). *

Nick Gibb Nicolas John Gibb (born 3 September 1960) is a British politician serving as Minister of State for Schools since October 2022, having previously held the office from 2010 to 2012 and again from 2015 to 2021. He has served at the Department for E ...

, Conservative MP for Bognor Regis since 1997 and Conservative Minister *

Simon Hughes Sir Simon Henry Ward Hughes (born 17 May 1951) is a former British politician. He is now the Chancellor of London South Bank University, an External Adviser to The Open University, and UK Strategic Adviser to Talgo. Hughes was Deputy Leader ...

, Former Liberal Democrat MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (1997-2015) *

Stephen Hammond Stephen William Hammond (born 4 February 1962) is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wimbledon since 2005. On 4 September 2012, Hammond was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of St ...

, Conservative MP for Wimbledon since 2005 *

, Campaigner for Human Rights *

Alan Wilson (bishop) Alan Thomas Lawrence Wilson (born 27 March 1955) is a British Anglican bishop. Since October 2003, he has been the area Bishop of Buckingham in the Diocese of Oxford. Early life and education Wilson was born on 27 March 1955 in Redford Barracks ...

, Bishop of Buckingham *

Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous a ...

, Actor *

Simon Callow Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English film, television and voice actor, director, narrator and writer. He was twice nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his roles in ''A Room with a View (1985 ...

, Actor *

, Comedian *

Sinitta Sinitta Malone (born 19 October 1963), known mononymously as Sinitta, is an American-born British singer, actress and television personality. She initially found commercial success in the mid-1980s with the single "So Macho" and had several ot ...

, Singer *

Paloma Faith Paloma Faith Blomfield (born 21 July 1981) is an English singer and actress. Her debut studio album, ''Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?,'' was released in 2009 and was certified double platinum in the UK. The album spawned the sing ...

, Singer *

, Human Rights Campaigner *

Jeffrey John Jeffrey Philip Hywel John (born 10 February 1953) is a Church of England priest, who served as the Dean of St Albans from 2004 until 2021. He made headlines in 2003 when he was the first person to have openly been in a same-sex relationshi ...

, Dean of St Albans *David Mitchell, Rabbi *Cannon Rosie Harper, Religious Leader *

, Chairman of Virgin Group *

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...

, Actor *

Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is a British broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at '' The Sun''. In 1994, aged 29, he was appointed editor of the ...

, TV Presenter *

, Singer

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Out4Marriage website
2012 establishments in the United Kingdom LGBT organisations in England Same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom