Allan Bell, the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man has begun the journey of introducing same sex marriage to the tiny island which is a British dependency.

Located between Great Britain and Ireland the Isle of Man is a self governed region that is a dependency of Great Britain and home to over 84,000 people. Homosexuality was only legalised in 1992, but the Chief Minister has said it’s time the Isle of Man followed Britain and Ireland and legalised same sex marriage.

“The message the Isle of Man has to send out in 2015 is that we are a tolerant, inclusive, open society. We abhor discrimination of any description and are outward looking and engaged with the outside world.” Bell told The Guardian.

The Chief Minister, who is gay, has said that he has found little opposition to the proposal, unlike when the community debated legalising homosexuality in the nineties.

The Chief Minister has also flagged plans to bring in anti-discrimination laws based on sexuality.

OIP Staff