Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons

Civil Partnership Bill: News from the U. K.
The Bill Would Give Committed Gay Couples the Same Sort of Security as a Married Couple

by Brian Walters
December 2004

Hello,

I thought it wise to tell you of the news from the UK since it is not on the Affirmation website yet.

The new Civil Partnership bill has just passed through the House of Lords after its swift ride through the House of Commons earlier this year and was given to become law as of the 17th of November. Basically, it means that the UK is set to join the other nations of the EU which have provisions for civil partnerships or marriages of gays and lesbians. The term Civil Partnership was given as to not offend the conservative Christians in the UK rather than using the term Marriage or Gay Marriage. But, essentially, it is marriage in all but name.

You can easily find information out at BBC news or lagla.org.uk or perhaps on Stonewall.org.uk. I believe that there is information on each of these sites. One of my personal favourite pictures comes from the lagla site. If you click on the civil partnership link, you can see a classic picture of the petitioners against the bill, notice the "huge" size of the mass throng!

For me, it is a great thing as it is for everyone in the UK and the world, but personally, it helps my own visa and immigration status since I came to the UK to study and have since fallen in love. And, it's been hard (yet not impossible) to set up an unmarried partnership here in the UK. Now, those who might go on this path after me will have less of a difficulty.

Cheers and I hope that this is useful.

Thanks,

Brian Walters
Manchester, England

See also:

A Same-Sex Wedding—Manchester Style