Amnesty International Scotland strongly welcomes today's announcement from the Scottish Government that it intends to legislate to allow same sex marriage.

Shabnum Mustapha, Programme Director for Amnesty International in Scotland, said:

"The announcement by the Scottish Government to legalise same sex marriage is a significant step forward to ensuring equality for all people in Scotland.

"The choice to marry or not to marry should be just that - a choice. It should not be denied because of someone's sexual orientation or gender identity. We welcome the government's announcement that it intends to legislate to allow this choice and uphold the rights of all people within our society.

"We look forward to seeing the government's intention turn into a reality."

• Amnesty Scotland's response to the Scottish Government's consultation on same sex marriage (PDF)
• Scottish announces same sex marriage to be legalised /li>