Exporting Gay Marriage to the United Kingdom

categories: Gay Marriage, International Gay Rights, Marriage Equality

Published June 27, 2009 @ 06:06AM PT

UK Union Jack

England right now doesn't have gay marriage. They have what they call "civil partnerships," a government-recognized commitment created by the government that allows gays and lesbians to receive many of the same benefits that married straight people receive in the United Kingdom.

But it's not marriage. Instead, it's a separate system created exclusively for LGBT relationships.

And a new poll from UPI.com shows that UK citizens recognize that separate and unequal are not fair and just. The poll shows that 61 percent of the British public believes gay couples should be allowed to marry, and not just have access to civil partnerships.

The poll also touches on the subject of gay adoption:

The poll, commissioned by The Times of London and conducted by Populus, also found that nearly half said gay couples should have equal adoption rights, the newspaper reported Saturday. [And] poll results indicated that 68 percent of the British public supports "full equal rights" for gay men and lesbians.

So sixty-one percent support marriage, not civil partnerships; 50 percent support the right of gays and lesbians to adopt; and 68 percent support "full equal rights" for LGBT people. That sounds like an environment ripe for change.

(Photo courtesy of LondonSLR's photostream on Flickr.)

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Comments (4)

I was always under the impression same-sex couples could adopt in the U.K.

Posted by Courtney C............ on 06/27/2009 @ 10:21AM PT
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Nevermind. I just looked it up and same-sex couples are allowed to adopt. Why was adoption mentioned if they are allowed to adopt?

Posted by Courtney C............ on 06/27/2009 @ 10:24AM PT
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It is my understanding that our civil partnership law actually extends all the benefits of marriage to civil partnerships and that the difference between the two is merely semantics. I've never felt happy about this since I believe that language does matter and that no one has put forward a compelling argument for why marriage is a term that should be reserved for heterosexuals only. Especially if you go to the trouble of giving gays and lesbians all the existing rights and benefits, then why insist on the linguistic distinction? What it has done, for all the good intentions behind the legislation, is segragating society into heteros on one side and LGBT couples on the other. (I actually wonder if Obama had the UK model in mind when he keeps proposing civil unions)

The poll is encouraging news but I fear with it being a near certainty that we'll get a Tory government next year, it'll stop the marriage equality movement in its tracks for the next four years at least (unless Brown pulls off the mother of all political comebacks).

Posted by Tim Kopp on 06/27/2009 @ 10:34AM PT
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The United Kingdom, since it's a European country with alot of its people supporting LGBT rights, should recognize same-sex marriage. In addition, civil partnerships should no longer be the top right which the LGBT community in the United Kingdom receive, thus they must also receive the right of same-sex marriage. It's good that many people there support adoption by LGBT couples. The United Kingdom must recognize the rights listed in the blog this year or a bit later.

Posted by Edwin Bonilla on 06/27/2009 @ 06:33PM PT
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Author

Michael is the Communications Director for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, and previously was Communications Director for Pax Christi USA, a progressive Catholic human rights organization.