Adultery petition rejected

A PETITION urging ministers to change the def inition of adultery following the introduction of same-sex marriages has been rejected by MSPs.

Akri Jones called for the change at Holyrood’s Public Petitions Committee to make the divorce process thesameformarriedcouples, regardless of whether they are gay or straight.

Former justice secretary Kenny MacAskill said the whole concept of adultery is “past its time” and should be abolished rather than extended.

He said Ms Jones “has made her point” but her petition should be rejected on the grounds that the Scottish Government has no time to action a change in the law in the current parliament.

MSPs agreed with Mr MacAskill but advised Ms Jones that she may resubmit her petition after a year.

Ms Jones argued that as adultery is defined as being “sexual intercourse between persons of the opposite sex out with marriage”, it does not apply to those in same-sex marriages.

Her petition called on the Scottish Government to “amend the definition of adultery within legislation so that is not restrictive to gender status”.

Under current legislation people in a same- sex marriage who wish to separate “will not be able to cite adultery as grounds for divorce”, Ms Jones said.

A Scottish Government s p o k e swo m a n said: “We have no intention of changing current divorce law and provisions in it relating to adultery.”