Gay marriage plans under scrutiny in Parliament Health Secretary Alex Neil will be questioned by MSPs over controversial plans to legalise same-sex marriage. The Scottish Government has put forward legislation which, if passed by Holyrood, will allow gay couples to get married. The proposal in the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill is being scrutinised by MSPs on the Equal Opportunities Committee. A number of religious groups have spoken out against the plans with the Church of Scotland saying last month that it is looking at whether it can continue to offer marriages if the new legislation leads to expensive court challenges. MSPs were told there are deep concerns in the Kirk about the bill, with the Rev Alan Hamilton, convener of the Kirk's legal questions committee, warning it could be an "invitation" to take religious bodies through the court system. Stigma At the same time Rev David Robertson, a Free Church minister in Dundee and director of the Solas Centre for Public Christianity, claimed the Scottish Government is effectively "destroying marriage," as he argued: "We do not accept that any government has the right to redefine marriage any more than it has the right to redefine a circle as a square." Meanwhile equality campaigners welcome the proposed change in the law. Tim Hopkins, director of the Equality Network, told MSPs last month that legalising same-sex marriage would "genuinely reduce stigma and discrimination." He said: "This bill is about love. Marriage is about love. If you speak to most married couples and ask them what their marriage is about, it's about love, it's about commitment to each other. If they have children, it's about their family. All of those things apply to same-sex couples as well. Under the government plans, religious bodies will opt in to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies. If a religious group does decide do this, protection will also be offered to individual celebrants who feel it would go against their faith to carry out gay weddings.