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Monday, January 11th, 2010
Conservative leader David Cameron promised on Monday to offer tax breaks to same-sex couples engaging in civil partnerships, one of a raft of family-friendly measures he hopes will soften his party’s image.
Cameron, who will become prime minister if the Conservatives win a general election due by June, was seeking to bounce back after admitting last week he had “messed up” by appearing to go back on a pledge to give married couples tax breaks.
“We will recognise marriage, whether between a man and a woman, a woman and a woman or a man and a man, in the tax system — and yes, that is a commitment,” he said during a speech at think-tank Demos.
Full Story from Reuters: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE60A2QG20100111
Click here for gay marriage resources in England.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Posted in civil partnerships, conservative, david cameron, gay couples, lesbian couples, promise, tax breaks, uk, united kingdom | No Responses »
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
Four years ago this week, Grainne Close and Shannon Sickles became the first same-sex couple in Great Britain to form a civil partnership, on December 19th 2005. Their union was made possible by the 2004 Civil Partnership Act, implemented to give gay couples the same rights and legal recognition as their straight, married counterparts. But, says human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, “Civil partnerships are not equality.”
So, four years on, is civil partnership working out?
It was undoubtedly a step in the right direction for gay couples. Not only do civil partnerships grant homosexual couples legal rights, but, more widely, they celebrate gay relationships and validate them in the eyes of society. However, even after four years, there are still plenty of legislative inequalities to iron out.
Full Story from Se7en Magazine: http://se7enmagazine.com/the-issue/39-europe/813-can-we-make-civil-partnership-work-.html
Click here for gay marriage resources in England.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Posted in civil partnerships, england, Gay Marriage, marriage equality, northern ireland, scotland, uk, united kingdom, wales | No Responses »
Monday, December 21st, 2009
Today marks the fourth anniversary of civil partnerships in England and Wales. Although Scotland celebrated its first civil partnership on December 20th 2005 due to a misunderstanding over the date, today marks the fourth anniversary for gay couples in England and Wales.
The very first to take place was on December 4th 2005, for a gay couple where one partner was terminally ill.
Four years ago today, three couples simultaneously tied the knot at 8am in Brighton – the exact time the legislation came into effect. The first three couples were Rev Debbie Gaston and Elaine Gaston, Gino Meriano and Mike Ullett and Roger Lewis and his partner Keith Willmott-Goodall.
Full Story from Pink News: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2009/12/21/happy-fourth-anniversary-for-civil-partnerships/
Click here for gay marriage resources in England.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Posted in civil partnerships, england, fourth anniversary, Gay Marriage, scotland, uk, united kingdom, wales | No Responses »
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
Gordon Brown is pushing for British civil partnerships to be recognised across the EU – including Eastern Europe, he has told Attitude magazine. The prime minister said Britain was negotiating deals with France and Spain but wanted to “go further than that”.
He told the gay lifestyle magazine it was important to show “respect for gay people was due” in “Eastern Europe as well as Western Europe”. But he predicted it would take “many years” for this to happen.
Campaigners have been pushing for people who have undergone a civil partnership to be granted the same legal status and rights they enjoy in the UK in every other EU country.
Full Story from B92: http://www.b92.net/eng/news/world-article.php?yyyy=2009&mm=12&dd=17&nav_id=63833
Click here for gay marriage resources in England.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Posted in civil partnerships, europe, gordon brown, pm, prime minister, recognition, uk, united kingdom | No Responses »
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
A Christian registrar who was threatened with the sack after refusing to carry out gay weddings “as a matter of religious conscience” has lost an appeal against discrimination. Lillian Ladele, who became a registrar in 2002, claims she was bullied and harassed by Islington council in north London as a result of her stance.
She was backed by Christian groups but opposed by gay rights campaigners.
In July last year, an employment tribunal found that the council had unlawfully discriminated against her, but the ruling was overturned by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) which said there was no basis for concluding that any discrimination had been established.
Full Story from Reuters: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5BE20420091215
Click here for gay marriage resources in England.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Posted in appeal, england, Gay Marriage, islington, lillian ladele, loses, registrar, uk | No Responses »
Friday, December 11th, 2009
The leader of the Scottish Government’s Equality Unit has said there is no end in sight for the equal marriage debate. Hilary Third told delegates at the opening of the International Gay and Lesbian Youth Organisation General Assembly in Edinburgh that while Scotland had made “significant progress” since decriminalisation, there was still a long way to go.
And she added that the constitutional arrangement of Scotland in the UK might get in the way of any debate on equal marriage.
Hosted by LGBT Youth Scotland and supported by the Scottish Government, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission and Edinburgh City Council, delegates of the biggest stand alone IGLYO event in 25 years will spend two days discussing the most pressing issues facing gay and lesbian young people.
Full Story from the Pink Paper: http://news.pinkpaper.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=2133
Click here for gay marriage resources.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Posted in Gay Marriage, marriage equality, scotland, uk, united kingdom | No Responses »
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
A straight couple who tried to apply for a civil partnership this morning have said they are willing to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Tom Freeman and Katherine Doyle, both 25, arrived at Islington Town Hall in London this morning to register their intention to have a civil partnership. As they had anticipated, they were given a letter of refusal.
Head of democratic services John Lynch wrote: “I do not wish to comment on your views on marriage but would point out that part one of the Civil Partnerships Act 2004 states that a civil partnership is a relationship between two people of the same sex and therefore we would not be able to take notice of your proposed civil partnership.”
Full Story from Pink News: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2009/11/24/straight-couples-civil-partnership-application-rejected/
Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in England.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Posted in application, civil partnership, england, rejected, straight couple, uk, united kingdom | No Responses »
Thursday, November 12th, 2009
In the latest challenge to what many see as unfair and restrictive marriage laws in Britain, a straight couple are attempting to register for a civil partnership.
The couple, Tom Freeman and Katherine Doyle, say that it is unfair that different-sex couples may enter into a civil marriage but not a civil partnership, while same-sex couples may have a civil partnership but not a legal marriage.
The news follows a series of other challenges to the UK’s marriage laws. In July, British Quakers agreed to lobby for a change in the law to allow them to carry out same-sex weddings with the same legal recognition as different-sex weddings.
Full Story from Ekklesia: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/10592
Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in England.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Posted in civil marriage, civil partnerships, england, Gay Marriage, uk, united kingdom | No Responses »
Monday, November 9th, 2009
The Speaker of the House of Commons has said that allowing gay and lesbian couples to hold their civil partnership ceremonies in the Palace of Westminster is a matter of “equity and justice”.
In an exclusive interview with ePolitix.com John Bercow also praised the “passion and conviction” shown by members of the UK Youth Parliament during their debate in the Commons last month.
“So far as civil partnerships are concerned, I feel very strongly that this is a matter of equity and justice,” Mr Speaker said.
Full Story from ePolitix: http://www.epolitix.com/latestnews/article-detail/newsarticle/speaker-backs-civil-partnerships
Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in the UK.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Posted in civil partnerships, Gay Marriage, house of commons, speaker, uk, westminsiter | No Responses »
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
A Christian registrar disciplined by her north London council after she refused to conduct same-sex civil partnerships took her discrimination claim to the Court of Appeal.
Lillian Ladele says she cannot carry out same-sex ceremonies “as a matter of religious conscience”. An employment tribunal found that Islington Council unlawfully discriminated against her but this was overturned by an employment appeal tribunal.
James Dingemans QC, representing her, told a panel of three appeal judges that Ms Ladele had never wanted to undermine the human rights or respect due to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender communities.
Full Story from The Press Association: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iuYL459Gnmg08mxy2KTbH5IuVOtw
Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in England.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
Posted in appeal, england, gay partnerships, lillian ladele, refused, registrar, uk | No Responses »
