Two little words...one huge meaning

I do.

Two little words, one huge meaning.

Following on from a previous post, I'm delighted to confirm that yes, we are getting married.  On the 6th April, 3 days after our 4th anniversary, we will be walking down an aisle, swapping some pretty jewellry, saying some lovely words and doing it all in front of our nearest and dearst.

Before I go any further I want to clarify something, we are having a Civil Partnership NOT a wedding, but to me the two things are the same so I refer to it as a wedding.  Just in case anyone is interested, David doesn't.

For me it's a principle: our civil partnership is every bit as valid as a wedding between a heterosexual couple.

Until same-sex marriage is introduced fully I will continue to refer to our day as wedding and David as my husband...because that's what he will be.

Anyway.  So yes, we're getting married (see I did it again).  But this isn't a self-indulgant post about our relationship, although I could do that I suppose.  This is a post about same-sex marriage.

Under the terms of the Civil Partnership Act (2004), LGBT couples in Britain have been able to enter into Civil Partnerships since December 2005.  Since their introduction, 53,417 couples had been entered into up until the end of December 2011.  That is 106,834 people who have chosen to signify their relationship in such a way, a massive difference from the conservative estimates of 11,000 - 22,000 couples expected to enter into a Civil Partnership by 2010.

Something I found interesting was that figures for dissolution of Civil Partnerships were 6.6%, while the numbers of married couples divorcing are increasing year on year, the figure being 11.1% in 2011.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to imply that couples in Civil Partnerships are in some ways more stable than married couple.  If I was going to draw a conclusion I would say that many LGBT couples waited a long time for Civil Partnerships to be introduced and those long terms couples chose this step.  In 2011 the average was 40 for men and 38 for women.

We're seven years on from the introduction of CP's in Britain now so what next?

Well, the Scottish Executive is aiming to introduce same-sex marriage to Scotland by 2015 and doing so in the face of a vitriolic campaign being headed up by the Catholic Church in Scotland.  This has led to a degradation of relations between the government and the church, but personally, I can't say that that upsets me particularly.

In the rest of the UK, after a consultation, the British Government has announced that they will introduce same-sex marriage in England and Wales, a move that I very much support.  They haven't announced when they intend to try and introduce legislation, but have said they will allow MPs a free vote and not put a party whip in place.  Again, something I support.  Some organisations (the Campaign for Marriage, and the Coalition 4 Equal Marriage) have started to compile lists of how MPs will vote...but we'll have to watch this space on that one.

Many senior political figures are supporting same-sex marriage, and surprisingly, many senior Tory figures.  George Osbourne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said he would vote in favour because the Conservative Party supported "institutions of committment".  I never thought I'd agree with a Conservative MP but I was pleased to read that.  But moreso in politics, actions speak louder than words.

Campaign lines have been drawn, and although I'd like to objective, I'm not when it comes to this issue, but suffice to say the one against equality is disgusting.  On a more positive note, the C4EM released this advert:

I love this, and I was so happy to see it appear on TV!  I'm sure this is not a universally held position, but everyone I spoke to who has seen this loves it.  Several cried...I didn't but I can understand why, it really is a beautiful thing to watch.

I'm going to be positive and think towards the introduction of equal marriage.

What do couples do then?  Retain their Civil Partnership or upgrade?  We've discussed it and decided we'll upgrade, it's what we want and as we're entering into a marriage, in practice if not in law, then once same-sex marriage is legal you better believe that we'll be getting that piece of paper!

This won't be my last post on the topic...I know I'll be blogging about the wedding if nothing else, but I hope that Britain continues to take positive steps forward and we can have marriage for all.

Civil Partnerships were the start...they need not be the end.