Equal civil marriage consultation

Being over the border, I haven't looked at the actual consultation down there, but the wording does sound crap.

Does it mean that the government DOES NOT plan to change the status quo?

If that's the case, and you believe religious marriage within faith groups that want to do this should be offered to same sex couples (as I definitely do,) then the answer is:

DISAGREE

But the wording is bloody confusing. Deliberate? Who knows?

And how do you answer this?
"Question 5. The government does not propose to open up religious marriage to same-sex couples. Do you agree or disagree with this proposal?"

The proposal to open up religious marriage to same sex couples, or the proposal NOT to open up religious marriage? It is asking me to agree to a non-proposal? HELP! I honestly don't know whether to tick 'agree' or 'disagree' (I think the CoE should bloody well be made to open up marriage if they remain the established church).

That is a bloody badly written question for a gvt consultation

Sorry - proper link this time here

Excellent response blackcurrants.

The consultation on Equal Marriage in Scotland ended in December. I talked to some of the folks in the Equalities Team of the Scottish Government earlier this week and they are busily compiling the responses and hope to publish them by May. Then the real work will start.

There's more information on the picture in Scotland [http://www.scottishlgbt.org/Events/News/Index.aspx?id=209 here]]

I was just coming on to post about this. Have answered it.

oooh, this is difficult.

I can't respond to this consultation because they aren't asking the questions I want to answer.

I think legal civil partnerships should bve available to all couples, and the legal basis of a partnerhisp, The if the religious also wnat a religious wedding, then they can have one.

This consultation messes things up because they still define the heterosexual version as a 'civil marriage' while same sex are 'civil partnership', it parcels this up with agreeing that religious weddings remain heterosexual - I am fiercely opposed to the CoE being part of the constitution of this country and yet being allowed to do anything against the Equality laws that everyone else has to subscribe to....it's another muddled crap heap.

Wamster People do favour one over the other - we favour heterosexual marriage so much that we invented a whole other thing (CPs) just so that we could stop homosexual people from being allowed into the marriage club.

now that we look back and think perhaps that was a bit silly, not to mention unfair, why not establish marriage equality in law?

As for signing the C4M petition "because I feel the whole thing to be a big fat waste of time and effort" - I'm sure it will reassure the same-sex couples longing to marry that you aren't religious or homophobic, just sure that they don't need to marry because you said so.

There is no need to open up civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples; a basic civil marriage in a register office is no different to civil partnerships.

The arguments against this are that marriages are patriarchal, maybe, but I cannot see society treating civilly-partnered straight couples as any different to the married. Remember, the whole point of CP's is that they are the legal equivalent of marriage.

As for the couple themselves: surely the quality of their relationship is not dependent upon their legal status and they can arrange their relationships as they wish?

Now I can see why people would be against marriage AND civil partnerships but to favour one over the other makes little sense. There's no discernible difference.

Let's look at the differences:
Cannot dissolve cp's because of sexual unfaithfulness, can in marriage. Surely in cp's this could be classed as 'unreasonable behaviour'

CP's don't require consummation. Marriages do. How can you prove this either way? Unless a law is passed to examine people's genitals, how do we know? Surely to pass a law would be anti-feminist in the extreme? I think so, anyway.

Sorry, all this 'equal marriage' stuff does my head in. Marriage is a legal contract from an objective viewpoint and as cp's are virtually identical to marriage and a relationship is what the couple make it regardless of marital status, I've no time for it.
In fact, I've signed the coalitionformarriage petition NOT because I am religious (I'm an atheist) nor homophobic, but because I feel the whole thing to be a big fat waste of time and effort.