Ground-breaking proposals providing legal status for same-sex couples in the United Kingdom were published this morning by Equality Minister Jacqui Smith

Under the Civil Partnership Bill, same-sex couples would be able to make a formal, legal commitment to each other by entering into a civil partnership. At present same-sex couples have no way of gaining formal legal recognition of their relationships.

A range of rights and responsibilities would flow from entering a civil partnership, helping same-sex couples to organise their lives together.

“The Civil Partnership Bill underlines the inherent value of committed same-sex relationships,” Jacqui Smith said.. “It opens the way to respect, recognition and justice for those who have been denied it for too long.

“Same-sex couples often face a range of unnecessary problems in their everyday lives because of a lack of legal recognition of their relationships.  The Civil Partnership Bill aims to eradicate this by providing same-sex couples with the opportunity to gain recognition of their relationship for the first time. It shows that we really value the diversity of the society we live in.

“People’s lives are complicated – nobody conforms to a stereotype, and this Bill will bring into law and practice the every day realities of modern society.  And that will lead to real respect, real recognition and real justice for the many who have been denied it for far too long,” the Minister added..

The process of entering a civil partnership would be administered by the local registration service. On the day of registration, each member of the couple would sign the register in the presence of the registration officer and two witnesses.

There would be a formal, court-based process for dissolution of a civil partnership.

The Bill, if passed, will give virtually all the “rights” enjoyed by married heterosexual couples, including next of kin rights, social security and pension benefits and inheritance tax concessions.

The Government has stopped short of using the words “gay marriage” in the Bill.  But the wording of the Bill is as close to the wording of a civil marriage as possible.

Even so, religious groups have already started voicing their opposition.

"We are opposed to the Bill in principle because it devalues marriage by giving all the legal privileges of married couples to same sex couples," commented Mike Judge of the Christian Institute.

Links
Civil Partnerships FAQs
The Civil Partnership Bill
The Government’s consultation document for civil partnership in England and Wales

31 March, 2004