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Gay News: Gay rights group Outrage is to organise a legal challenge to the current marriage and civil partnership laws.
By: Nigel Robinson
Outrage will challenge marriage laws
Outrage will challenge marriage laws
Outrage demands "Equal Love"
25 October 2010
The Equal Love campaign will address the twin bans on gay marriage and heterosexual civil partnerships, gay rights activist Peter Tatchell of Outrage said.
Starting on 2 November eight couples will file applications at their local registry offices.
Four same-sex couples will apply for civil marriages and four straight couples will apply for civil partnerships.
Every week up to 14 December one couple will make an application.
“If the couples are turned away, we plan to take legal action,” said Tatchell. “We will argue in the courts that in a democratic society gay and straight couples should be equal before the law. Both civil marriages and civil partnerships should be open to anyone without discrimination.”
The Equal Love campaign’s case is being prepared by Robert Wintemute, Professor of Human Rights Law at King’s College, London.
The Equal Love campaign’s case is being prepared by Robert Wintemute, Professor of Human Rights Law at King’s College, London.
“By excluding same-sex couples from civil marriage, and different-sex couples from civil partnership, the UK Government is discriminating on the ground of sexual orientation, contrary to the Human Rights Act,” he said.
“Specifically, the twin bans violate Article 14 (protection against discrimination), Article 12 (the right to marry) and Article 8 (the right to respect for family life).
“The rights attached to civil marriage and civil partnership are identical, especially with regard to adoption of children, donor insemination, and surrogacy.
“The rights attached to civil marriage and civil partnership are identical, especially with regard to adoption of children, donor insemination, and surrogacy.
“There is no longer any justification for excluding same-sex couples from civil marriage and different-sex couples from civil partnership. It's like having separate drinking fountains or beaches for different racial groups, even though the water is the same!
“The only function of the twin bans is to mark lesbian and gay people as inferior to heterosexual people.”
Peter Tatchell added: “In a democratic society, we should all be equal before the law. The ban on same-sex civil marriage and on opposite-sex civil partnerships is a form of sexual apartheid - one law for gay couples and another law for heterosexual partners. Two wrongs don't make a right.
"Just as gay couples should be able to marry, civil partnerships should be available to straight couples.”
