Campaign to raise awareness of gay 'marriages'

[tjwmason]

Campaign to raise awareness of gay 'marriages'
By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent
(Filed: 15/09/2005)

A campaign to promote gay "marriages" was launched by the Government yesterday with the assistance of two same-sex couples who are planning to "tie the knot".

Ministers believe that some in the lesbian and gay community are still unaware of the Civil Partnerships Act, which comes into force on Dec 5.

Launching the campaign at Westminster Register Office, Meg Munn, the deputy equality minister, said that, once an anomaly in pensions legislation had been ironed out in five years, there would be no legal difference between civil partnerships and marriage.

Partners will have the same rights as married couples in tax, employment, benefits and housing and, if the relationship breaks down, the courts can rule on the division of property and maintenance payments.

Like other couples, civil partners will be able to "marry" in approved venues. The only discrepancy between a partnership and a marriage will be the way the union is formalised.

While couples marrying have to recite a set of words, civil partners will be legally "joined" when they sign a register.

Mrs Munn said: "It is ridiculous that we have had a system that does not recognise the relationship of a gay couple who may have lived together for 20 years. One partner could be excluded from the funeral if the other died, or lose their joint home because of inheritance tax."

However, the new law has proved controversial with Church leaders who do not permit the blessings of same-sex unions.

At the other extreme, gay rights activists have criticised the Government for refusing to describe the partnerships as marriages.

The couples at the launch yesterday were Bryce Morrison, 66, and Lyndon Scarffe, 64, who live near the register office in Marylebone, central London, and have been together for 30 years, and Joanna Sedley, 37, and Paula Burke, 33, from Thatcham, Berks, who have been together for eight years.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/09/15//ngay15.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/09/15/ixhome.html

[dickthegrouch]

1. WOW

I might have to return to blighty.

I hope EQCA uses this as part of their argument with The Discriminator next week to show how out of touch he and the rest of the US is with other allies and industrialized nations.

[tjwmason]

2. The whole thing has attracted remarkable little controversy

I think in part because of the fact that these are 'civil partnerships' rather than 'marriages' (though the legal benefits granted are identical); but also the whole argument seems more relaxed over here (thankfully we have practically no evangelical fundies).

Plus welcome to D.U. :hi: