United Kingdom poised to allow same-sex marriage law; Ben and Jerry's celebrates

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With Britain’s announcement of proposed legislation to legalize same-sex marriage, Ben and Jerry’s has relabeled its “Oh My Apple Pie” flavor, which is not sold in the United States, to become “Apple-y Ever After.” The label of the alternative packaging shows an interracial same-sex male couple on top of a three-tiered wedding cake, with rainbow trim to boot.

When Vermont, home state of the eclectic corporation, passed such legislation in 2010, the company celebrated by briefly repackaging its “Chubby Hubby” flavor as “Hubby Hubby.”

While Anglican, Catholic, Muslim and Sikh religious organizations have formerly opposed the legislation, it is likely to pass due to the support given by the coalition government led by Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg.

Controversy swelled in March after British Cardinal Keith O’Brien compared legalizing same-sex marriage to a human rights violation on par with legalizing slavery in an opinion piece published in the Telegraph. The Cardinal defended his beliefs by stating that article 16 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights defines family as “a relationship between men and women,” though the article actually says “Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.”

“The point is to raise awareness around same-sex marriage issues,” Ben and Jerry’s spokesperson Liz Stewart told the Associated Press.

“We’ve been an activist brand really since our inception in 1978,” she said. “We’ve stuck up for social justice issues in the past, and it’s something we’ll continue to do going forward.”

Information for this article was taken from www.telegraph.co.uk, www.un.org and www.thewashingtonost.com

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