Andrew Sullivan brings news that the Tory party in England is willing to consider “full marriage rights” for gays and lesbians.
The story he cites, which ran in the Telegraph, not only illustrates the difference between British conservatives and their American counterparts, it sheds light on the different landscapes on which progressive members in the Church of England and their counterparts in the Episcopal Church work.
The Church of England is tolerant of gay clergy as long as they don’t want to be bishops, and those clergy can already avail themselves of the benefits of civil partnerships. As a result, British progressives sometimes feel less urgency in pressing for full ecclesiastical citizenship for LGBT Christians than do Episcopalians, who live in a less tolerant country. Or, put perhaps more charitably, our friends in England see more wisdom in taking the long view and winning unspoken concessions rather than highly visible public victories.