Set love free: in defence of equal marriage and civil partnerships

February 21, 2017 · found by

An appeal court in England has denied a heterosexual couple the right to be joined in a civil-partnership rather than by marriage. Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan reject ‘traditional’ marriage because it is ‘sexist’ and ‘patriarchal’. Their claim that they are denied a civil partnership because of their sexuality is insulting to LGBT people who’ve fought decades for recognition, but this does not mean we should reject the need for equality under the law.

Now first off, the Civil Partnerships Act of 2004 created a second-class marriage-lite for same-sex couples. It did not make marriage equal. It took another decade before British same-sex couples had the right to be married in the full eyes of the law. So many in the LGB community have dismissed the straight couple’s complaint, rightly so, without considering that in fighting for equality, we should have been demanding a two-way street. That’s not to diminish our fight but to say all love should be set free.

Aside from being ‘sexist’ and ‘patriarchal’, marriage in the UK is also an institution of the state and the church, one that continues (at least in the Church of England/Anglican church) deny equality to LGBT people. The alternative form of being joined should be open to all, otherwise the government should ban civil partnerships entirely.

And yet that would be a mistake. Marriage in the UK is still not perfect. Apart from the above concerns, civil partnerships are necessary for trans and non-binary couples due to the way gender is defined thanks to the Gender Recognition Act of 2004. A person might be required to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) to change their legal gender, however without it, the language of marriage is not appropriate. This holds even truer for non-binary persons as the law doesn’t yet recognize the option. Obtaining a GRC is often costly and difficult. A married couple that includes a transgender partner would need to have the marriage dissolved (divorce) before obtaining a GRC and re-marrying.

When the civil partnership was created it was not perfect and its very creation was for many wrong reasons, however there are equally valid reasons to open civil partnerships to persons wishing to be joined together legally, you know for all those tax benefits and spousal rights. It’s time for the government to correct the Civil Partnerships Act and make it fair, open and equaly.