Gay couples in
the United Kingdom began registering for civil
partnerships on Monday as a law took effect giving them many
of the same legal rights as married heterosexuals.
Scores showed up at town halls across the country,
eager to claim the benefits and official
recognition--although not the official title
"marriage"--for which some have waited decades.
"We're absolutely delighted," said 80-year-old John
Walton, registering in London with Roger
Raglan, his partner of 40 years. "It's enormously
important to us that we should be able to state to
everyone that we are partners."
Among the first
to register were pop star Elton John and his filmmaker
partner, David Furnish, whose official proclamation was
posted alongside those of other impending weddings and
partnerships at Maidenhead Town Hall, west of London.
After the mandatory 15-day waiting period the couple
plan to have a private ceremony in nearby Windsor, where
they have a home.
They will tie the
knot in Windsor's 17th-century town hall, where Prince
Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles in April, the local
council says. "Sir Elton and Mr. Furnish are making a
solemn and formal commitment to each other, and our
Guildhall offers them dignity and privacy," says
Mary-Rose Gliksten, council leader for the Royal Borough of
Windsor and Maidenhead.
The law, passed
in 2004 despite some opposition from the
parliament's unelected House of Lords, gives same-sex
couples the same social security, tax, pension, and
inheritance rights as married ones. Prime Minister
Tony Blair's center-left government dropped the word
"marriage" from its legislation rather than run afoul of
legislators who feel the word has religious connotations.
The first
ceremonies will be held December 19 in Northern Ireland,
December 20 in Scotland, and December 21 in England and
Wales.
The Times newspaper of London marked the day by
publishing notices of "gay marriages" for the first
time. One of the partnership announcements in the
newspaper was placed by Graham Ferguson, 67, and Christopher
Heyd-Smith, 59, a retired couple from Lyme Regis in
southwest England, who plan a civil partnership
ceremony on January 30. "We have been living together
very happily for 34 years; we have our wills made out
properly to benefit each other, but we feel it is a
privilege to be able to have our partnership legally
recognized," Ferguson told The Times.
While the
legislation aroused some opposition, it did not provoke a
huge controversy. It caps a remarkable transformation
in social attitudes that began when Victorian laws
outlawing homosexuality were overturned in England and
Wales in 1967--although they persisted in Scotland
until 1980 and Northern Ireland until 1982. In 2000
the government lifted a longstanding ban on gays
serving in the armed forces and lowered the age of
consent for gays to 16, the same as for straight
people.
"Britain has been
in the dark ages over this, but today we have made the
first step into the 21st century," says Percy Steven,
registering his partnership with Roger Lockyer at
Westminster Council House in central London. "When we
first started living together, we were breaking the
law," says Steven, 66. "If somebody had said to me
that one day gay people would be able to have their
partnerships recognized, I would have said, 'Yes, but
not in my lifetime.' "
Up to 1,000
couples were expected to register their partnerships on
Monday. In Brighton, the south coast beach resort that is
Britain's self-styled gay capital, the register office
opened at 7:30 a.m. to accommodate several couples
already waiting.
"It was
wonderful," says the Reverend Debbie Gaston, a minister
at Metropolitan Community Church in Brighton who plans to
formalize her union to partner Elaine Gaston on
December 21. "We were aware that it was history in the
making, and we were overwhelmed by it all. It's been a
long time coming. I believe it's God that has opened up this
door for the civil partnerships to happen."
The Netherlands,
Canada, Belgium, and Spain have legalized same-sex
marriage, while Germany, France, and Switzerland have
similar laws to Britain's. In the United States,
Massachusetts alone allows gay marriage, while Vermont
and Connecticut permit civil unions. (AP)
