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METRO warmly welcomes the Government's statement today that it will be moving forward on equal marriage proposals following the recent consultation on this matter.

Dr Greg Ussher, METRO Deputy Chief Executive said:

We are absolutely delighted at this significant step forward and commend the Government for its commitment to equality. We are particularly pleased that religious institutions that want to perform same sex marriages will be able to do so - this was a significant issue for our 50+ Group

As the largest provider of direct services to LGBT people, we see the damaging effects that inequality and discrimination have on their health and wellbeing, their self-esteem, aspirations and quality of life and our current national research project Youth Chances, reveal high rates of discrimination, bullying, abuse and self-harm amongst young LGBT people. The question mark that hangs over full equality for LGBT people in debates about equal marriage is symptomatic of this discrimination and its effects, and contributes to it.

It is time to change the law and we call on our elected representatives to support all efforts to break through one of the final barriers to full legal equality.

ENDS

For all media enquiries and photo opportunities: Patricia Durr, Head of Communications & PR, [email protected], 020 8305 5000 x.136, 07912515397

Notes:
- METRO's response to the Equal Marriage Consultation can be found here
- METRO is a leading equality and diversity charity providing mental health and wellbeing services, sexual health and HIV services and youth services across London and the South East and with national and international projects. METRO supports all people experiencing issues related to sexuality, sexual health or gender identity. Services include counselling, groupwork, youthwork, advocacy, HIV prevention and support, sexual health screening and peer mentoring, as well as support for victims of same-sex domestic violence and LGBT hate crime. It is the largest provider of direct services to the LGBT community in London and its other main user groups are young people, African people and those living with HIV. METRO is currently leading Youth Chances - the groundbreaking social research project looking at the experiences of 16-25 LGBT and questioning young people.
- You can find out more about our work in our Annual Review 2011 and follow us on Twitter @MetroCharity and Facebook Metro Charity