Then & Now: LGBTQ+ Rights Since the Legalisation of Same Sex Marriage

A panel discussion looking at LGBTQ+ Rights in the ten years since same sex marriage was legalised in Scotland. Our fantastic panel will discuss audience members questions at this event which aims to explore how LGBTQ+ rights have faired since 2014.

We are very pleased to announce our panel members as Hannah Bardell, Linsey Paton-Donaldson, Rev. Dan Harper and Scott McMurray.

Tickets for this event are free and can be booked HERE.

This event is part of Stirling Pride’s Rural Tour funded by Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund administered by SVE and CTSI.

Hannah Bardell (She/Her)

Former MP for Livingston between 2015 and 2024, Hannah was one of 45 LGBTQ+ Members of Parliament in 2019, when the House of Commons was named as the Gayest Parliament in the World. During her time as a MP she campaigned on a number of high profile issues including deaths abroad, the Primodos hormone pregnancy scandal and the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people. She is an outspoken advocate on women’s sport and football and played with the Women’s Westminster Parliamentary football team- which landed her in the global press -after she did keepy-uppy’s in the House of Commons chamber with the team in their football strips during the Brexit votes.

Hannah Bardell

Linsey Paton-Donaldson (She/Her)

Linsey is a Director of Stenhousemuir Football Club and also works with Stenhousemuir FC Community Foundation as the Community Football Co-ordinator for their adult programmes, including Walking Football. She became the first female to join the Board at the Club following over a decades commitment as a business sponsor for the club’s men’s walking football programme. Linsey is also a Trustee of Walking Football Scotland and was named Walking Football Scotland Women’s Player of the Month in February 2024. Linsey plays with both Stenhousemuir FCCT and Linlithgow Rose. She began playing Walking Football after being diagnosed with a liver disease called Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis and missing being active and the socialising that comes with team sports.

Linsey Paton-Donaldson

Rev Dan Harper (He/Him)

Dan has been the Minister of Bridge of Allan Parish Church since 2016. As a Minister in the Church of Scotland, Dan has been an advocate for Ministers to conduct same sex marriages, and he warmly welcomed the Church of Scotland General Assembly’s decision to vote to allow Ministers to do so in 2022. He was instrumental in bringing together several churches at Stirling Pride in September 2024 under the banner Christians at Pride, handing out badges affirming God’s love for all LGBTQ+ people and organising a Pride Service that was the closing event of Stirling Pride 2024 and attended by over 50 people at the city’s historic Holy Rude Church.

Rev. Dan Harper (Pictured Front Centre)

Scott McMurray (He/Him)

Scott was a co-founder of Stirling Pride and worked on the project from it’s initial consultation in 2023 through to the first event taking place in September 2024. Scott lives rurally within the Stirling area and has a passion for encouraging diversity and inclusivity in rural areas. This follows growing up on the Isle of Arran, where there was very little LGBTQ+ representation. Scott works for the local MSP and his contacts across the community have been a significant support to bringing various organisations across Stirling together to work on the project.

Scott McMurray (left)