David Jones MP. Still courtesy of the BBC
Tory Secretary of State for Wales David Jones MP has come under criticism for his comments in an interview on ITV Wales show “Face to Face” where he said that a gay couple could not provide a “warm and safe environment” to raise children.
When asked why he opposed gay marriage Jones said:
I regard marriage as an institution that has developed over many centuries, essentially for the provision of a warm and safe environment for the upbringing of children, which is clearly something that two same sex partners can’t do.”
Labour’s Shadow Welsh Secretary Owen Smith condemned these remarks saying:
These comments reveal that the nasty party is alive and well under David Cameron. That such views exist in the heart of the Tory Cabinet provides yet more evidence of how out of touch the Tories are with modern Britain, and how David Cameron’s claim to have changed his party is, like so many of his promises, nothing more than empty words. David Jones’ comments are profoundly offensive and he should apologise immediately.
Jones has since responded to the criticism surrounding his interview by saying:
I was asked on the Face to Face programme why I voted against the same sex marriage proposals. I replied that I had done so on the basis that I took the view that marriage is an institution that has developed over the centuries so as to provide a safe and warm environment for the upbringing of children. I made the point of stressing that I was fully supportive of committed same sex relationships. I also strongly approve of civil partnerships. I did not say in the interview that same sex partners should not adopt children and that is not my view. I simply sought to point out that, since same sex partners could not biologically procreate children, the institution of marriage was one that, in my opinion, should be reserved to opposite sex partners