UK gay couples to tie the knot officially

UK gay couples to tie the knot officially

	Published : Mon, 05 Dec 2005 14:05 By : Andrew Stead Print this Story

Thousands of gay and lesbian couples are preparing to celebrate what will be the UK’s first ‘civil partnership’ ceremonies in a few days from now. The same-sex ‘marriages’ will bring into force a landmark law that recognises and grants legal rights to marriages between 'individuals of the same gender'.

Registry councils have now opened their doors to gay couples seeking to legalise their relationships. Many have already started registering their intent to form civil partnerships. According to schedules in the registry councils as many as 1200 ceremonies will be performed starting from 19th December.

Gays have welcomed the Civil Partnership Act as a significant milestone in the legal history of the UK. Stonewall, the gay campaign group said that same sex couples will now have the same rights and responsibilities as given to a heterosexual couple. A Stonewall spokesperson said that thousands of gay couples had already informed their local councils of their interest in becoming civil partners. In Brighton alone, 400 couples had come forward to make a booking.

The civil ceremony requires same sex couples to sign an official document in front of the register and two witnesses. The Civil Partnership Act which was given the Royal green signal last year is very similar to a marriage contract. As with heterosexual marriages, civil partnerships too can be terminated, except that it would be called a ‘dissolution’ rather than a ‘divorce’.

Both partners will gain the same set of rights in areas such as tax and pensions as couples in a heterosexual marriage. Either partner can benefit from the other’s national insurance and is even entitled to tax-free inheritance of the partner’s property after his/her death.

Employers will have to provide the same benefits like health insurance and pensions to their employee’s civil partners as they do to their employees’ spouses.

The legislation is also likely to benefit platonic same-sex friends who might get into a civil partnership only to take advantage of the benefits, particularly of being able to inherit the partner’s assets.

With this legislation the UK becomes the tenth European Union member state to recognise same-sex marriages and provide the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexual couples enjoy.

Meanwhile a range of “Mr and Mr” and “Mrs and Mrs” cards is set to arrive in stores such as Asdas. And Superdrug was quick to cash in by selling soaps and towels embroidered “Darling, Dearest, Queerest”.