With all the news from the UK about the establishment of civil partnerships, it’s very easy to miss one thing in all the current euphoria. And that fact is nailed very succinctly by Peter Tatchell in today’s Guardian. The core of it is simply this:
While this milestone is a cause for celebration, it also has a downside. For the first time in modern British legal history, instead of repealing discrimination parliament has reinforced and extended it. Civil partnerships are for same-sex couples only. Straights are excluded. Conversely, marriage remains reserved for heterosexuals, to the exclusion of gays. The differential treatment of hetero and homo couples is enshrined in law. Welcome to segregation, UK-style.
He’s absolutely right. And while people may talk of ‘gay marriage’, it quite clearly isn’t. Once again, I am pleased to live in the Netherlands, where the pragmatic Dutch recognise three forms of a couple living together: informal co-habitation (perhaps with a legal agreement entered into by the individuals concerned), registered partnership, and full civil marriage. All three forms are open to both different-sex and same-sex couples.
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