Marriage fight goes to court

UK marriage equality group Equal Love will challenge laws banning same-sex couples from marrying and heterosexual couples from entering into civil unions in the European Court of Human Rights.

Equal Love has provided lawyers for four heterosexual couples who recently sought to enter into civil partnerships and four same-sex couples who recently sought to marry.

The couples will argue that they have been discriminated against because of their sexual orientation.

Veteran activist Peter Tatchell said Equal Love had lodged the court challenge on December 21 as civil partnerships had become legal on that day in 2005.

“[That] was a breakthrough moment in legal equality and social acceptance for same-sex couples,” said Tatchell, “Now it is time to go one step further by overturning the ban on gay civil marriages”.

He recognised some same-sex couples preferred civil partnerships but said marriage was a “universally recognised system of love and commitment.”

“We [also] sympathise with heterosexual couples who don’t like the patriarchal history of marriage and the idea of being called husband and wife. They would rather have a civil partnership instead. The law should give them that option.”

The couples are being represented in the case, which is expected to run until 2013 by Professor Robert Wintemute of the School of Law at Kings College.

From next year the British Government will allow civil partnerships to be conducted in places of worship making the distinction between them and marriages even less clear.