Owen Paterson says he cannot support David Cameron's gay marriage plan In a letter to a constituent, sent last week, Mr Paterson said: "Having considered this matter carefully, I am afraid that I have come to the decision not to support gay marriage. The government is rightly committed to advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and has already taken action to do so by allowing those religious premises that wish to carry out civil partnerships to do so. Ministers have also erased "historic convictions for consensual gay sex" and are putting pressure on other countries that "violate the human rights" of homosexuals. "The Prime Minister has made clear that he supports equal civil marriage and the Government is rightly consulting widely on this issue before making any changes to the current position," Mr Paterson said. A formal consultation on how civil marriage will be reformed was launched earlier this year. MPs expect to be given a "free vote" on the issue in the Commons. However, it is unclear whether Cabinet ministers will be expected to vote in favour of the reforms. Other ministers who have signalled their concerns over the issue in recent weeks include Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, who refused to back new legislation, saying it was "not the number one priority." Tim Loughton, the children's minister, who is not in the Cabinet, said marriage as a religious institution "cannot be anything other than between a man and a woman," adding: "I do not see why we need to change the law." Gerald Howarth, a defence minister, also said that the Prime Minister had "no mandate" for the reforms.