Campaigners seeking legalised same-sex marriage staged a mock wedding outside Holyrood yesterday as they pressed the Scottish Government to back the proposal.
The event, which is the latest in a series of rallies and protests for or against gay marriage, was attended by about 150 people.
Jaye and Ruth Richards-Hill, a Christian couple from Glasgow who have been together for three years, were "married" in a ceremony conducted by Rev Jane Clarke of the Metropolitan Community Church.
Protesters handed in a 10,000-signature petition to MSPs and a letter to the First Minister. The Equality Network, which organised the event, said most people in Scotland supported legalising gay marriage.
Rev Clarke said: "My Church, like many others, wants the right to conduct same-sex marriages. For us this is an issue of equality and religious freedom."
The Government is preparing to publish the results of its consultation on the issue. Currently, the law in Scotland allows civil partnerships between same-sex couples.
Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the most senior Catholic in Scotland, has already said bishops will raise money for a so-called Support Marriage Sunday earmarked for August 26.
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