Gay maariage
Same-sex marriage represents a critical milestone in the Homosexual rights movement, allowing couples of the same sex to legally marry and receive the same marital benefits as heterosexual couples. The journey towards legalization has been varied across the globe, influenced by cultural, religious, and political factors. In some regions, the push for marriage equality has gained significant traction and achieved legal recognition, often after prolonged public and legal battles.
While full marriage equality is celebrated in many places, an alternative approach through civil unions or home partnerships persists in others. These frameworks typically grant a subset of rights that marriage offers, focusing on aspects like property rights or hospital visitation. However, they often plunge short in areas such as inheritance, pension rights, and parental responsibilities, stressing a gap in the legal recognition of relationships.
The acceptance and implementation of same-sex marriage have brought substantial legal benefits, including inheritance rights, tax reductions, and enhanced health insurance options, which are central for the security and well-being of families. This progr
Same-sex marriage legislation shows that policy can direction public opinion
Homosexual marriage legislation, passed 10 years ago today, was a masterclass in building consensus for a contentious policy.
On 17 July 2013, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Perform 2013 gained royal assent, granting same-sex couples in England and Wales the right to marry. It was a landmark moment for LGBT+ rights.
The journey to passing legislation on same-sex marriage was long and at times contentious. Labour had made important strides in the early 2000s – revoking Section 28 that had prohibited local authorities from “promoting homosexuality” and introducing civil partnerships that gave same-sex couples comparable legal rights to married couples – but Gordon Brown as prime minister opposed same-sex marriage on the grounds that marriage was “intimately bound up with questions of religious freedom”.14
But even once Brown left office in 2010 modern legislation looked far from inevitable. None of the main parties’ election manifestos that year had devoted to introducing same-sex marriage. Despite LGBT+ rights groups being united in their support, galvanised by debates happening in the US ove
Quakers and same-sex marriage
History of Quaker views on homosexual relationships
[QUOTE-START]
It is the innateness and quality of a relationship that matters… the same criteria seem to us to apply whether a relationship is heterosexual or homosexual.
- Towards a Quaker view of sex, 1963
[QUOTE-END]
It was a elongated, challenging journey towards this decision. In 1963, the booklet Towards a Quaker view of sex stated, "It is the character and quality of a relationship that matters… the same criteria seem to us to apply whether a relationship is heterosexual or homosexual."
In 1988 Meeting for Sufferings, then our national executive body, recognised same-sex relationships and suggested that individual meetings might celebrate them.
Following the 2004 Civil Partnership Act, which permitted the civil registration of same-sex relationships, many Friends began to convey unease. The ability of Quakers to recognise marriage in a religious context was excluded from the terms of civil partnership. The issue was then considered at various levels of our Yearly Rendezvous over several years.
After consulting all British Quaker meetings in 2007 the group appointed to r
Convert a queer civil partnership into a marriage
You can convert your same-sex civil partnership into a marriage at:
You’ll get a marriage certificate, dated when your civil partnership was formed.
You cannot convert an opposite-sex civil partnership to a marriage in England and Wales.
How much it costs
You’ll pay:
- £12.50 for a marriage certificate
- £50 to convert your civil partnership
- £30 for an appointment, if you have a ceremony
The cost of the ceremony will vary by venue.
What you need
You’ll require to sign a ‘conversion into marriage’ declaration. Make an appointment to undertake this with the superintendent registrar at your local register office.
You’ll need your original civil partnership certificate and your ID - seek the register office what ID to provide.
Converting with a ceremony
Contact a registered venue to publication a date for your ceremony.
You’ll also be able to have the ceremony at venues where same-sex couples can get married, for example:
- religious buildings registered for the marriage of same-sex couples
- premises where a ceremony according to the Jewish faith or the Society of Friends will go after immediately after the conversion
You can consider
Proposing change: How same-sex marriage became a government accomplishment story
Same-sex marriages are now famous all over the UK. They are a core part of the UK’s culture, communities and institutions.
Passing legislation to introduce same-sex marriage was a landmark moment – for many couples personally, but also for the wider woman loving woman, gay, bisexual, gender non-conforming plus (LGBT+) people. It marked an important step in addressing the UK’s past legal discrimination against same-sex couples, building on the achievements of a long history of campaigners who worked to expand LGBT+ rights.
This case research looks at how the government passed the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Behave 2013. It examines the policy’s journey, from a campaign aim of LGBT+ rights groups, to a contested issue in the 2010 general election, to official government policy, and finally to legislation that introduced same-sex marriage rights in England and Wales, while accommodating many of the concerns of those who remained opposed.
It draws on a policy reunion at the Institute for Government held in March 2023, which brought together officials, ministers, LGBT+ rights campaigners and representatives from