Live and Let Live


I kept this BBC list of MSPs from the Scottish Parliament which names the politicians who either voted against or abstained on the recent vote over same sex marriage.

 I presume that most, if not all, MSPs on the list object to same sex marriage on religious grounds - which is fine, on one level, because no one is asking them to marry someone of the same sex.

 So you would think that we could all agree to live and let live, by which I mean that MSPs who feel this way should not see to impose their moral or religious values on me - and in return I promise not to impose my views on them.

 Seems fair, don't you think?

 Anyway, I'm holding on to this list because the same argument applies to the bill on assisted suicide which the independent MSP, Margo MacDonald's, is raising in the Scottish Parliament.

 I have no wish to end my life, but if ever I do then I regard that as my own choice - a very private and personal matter - and so long as there are proper safeguards in place, my view is that the criminal law should not be involved.

 Family members or friends should not be turned into criminals for helping a loved one who makes a informed decision to end their life - and if some MSPs don't agree with that proposition, then no one is asking them to volunteer. 

Those opposed:

Alasdair Allan, (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP)
Gavin Brown, (Lothian) (Con)
Roseanna Cunningham, (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire) (SNP)
Nigel Don, (Angus North and Mearns) (SNP)
Fergus Ewing, (Inverness and Nairn) (SNP)
Alex Fergusson, (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con)
Murdo Fraser, (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Alex Johnstone, (North East Scotland) (Con)
Richard Lyle, (Central Scotland) (SNP)
John Mason, (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP)
Jamie McGrigor, (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Nanette Milne, (North East Scotland) (Con)
Margaret Mitchell, (Central Scotland) (Con)
Elaine Smith, (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab)
Liz Smith, (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)

Those abstaining:

Chic Brodie, (South Scotland) (SNP)
Angus MacDonald, (Falkirk East) (SNP)
Hanzala Malik, (Glasgow) (Lab)
Michael McMahon, (Uddingston and Bellshill) (Lab)
Siobhan McMahon, (Central Scotland) (Lab)

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