Not Lost: Exploring

Or… you know… lost.

I got up yesterday morning with the intention of visiting the London Library, which is located adjacent to St. James Square. Upon leaving the hotel, I walked the wrong direction down the street before I realized it and turned around. I then took the tube the wrong direction and had to start over. I somehow managed to get lost after St. James Square (perhaps because the library didn’t have a large ostentatious sign announcing itself) and wandered around a 4 square block area until I got back onto the tube and went to the next station to attempt getting there from the other side.

I did eventually find the London Library. But it’s a private library and I’d have had to pay 15 ₺ to look at anything. So the librarian directed me to the British Library.

Back to the tube.

The librarian at the British Library informed me that because it was an archive, I’d have to know exactly what text I wanted so that they could pull it for me and I could look in 2 days. So she directed me to the St. Pancras public library, where I finally managed to find what I was looking for. I love librarians; such wonderful, helpful individuals.

British Parliament passed two pieces of legislature in 2004: the Civil Partnership Act and the Gender Recognition Act.

The Civil Partnership Act gave non-heterosexual couples the right to enter into a legally-recognized union that is not marriage. Marriage is defined for British law as a lifelong union between one man and one woman (plus other details). This definition is unedited, and clearly disallows for any other relationship to result in marriage. Like marriage, couples wishing to enter into a civil partnership are granted (at least as far as I can tell, judging by the materials available to me) all the same rights and benefits that married couples are granted: tax and pension benefits, medical benefits, etc. Also like marriage, couples are required to register in the area where they live, regardless of where they intend to actually hold the union. 15 days are required to pass, during which time any persons wishing to make an objection are required to come forward and do so. After that time period, the union can take place at any time within the year of registration; if a year passes, the process must be restarted.

With that, nonreligious venues which hold weddings are disallowed to refuse to hold civil partnerships. However, any religious venue can—and if I understand how the book read, they are essentially required to, because civil partnerships cannot be registered on religious premises and no religious ceremony/service is allowed to take place at the signing of the Civil Partnership schedule (akin to a marriage license). However, I could be wrong on that requirement comment, because the book stated that marriages could be registered at whatever venue it’s taking place. So I’m not certain if civil partnerships can take place in a religious venue, if said venue allows for it, but they can’t register it there, or if they just straight up can’t have it there at all.

Couples united in a civil partnership are allowed to adopt jointly and both adults can share parental rights. They can also apply for “separation orders” to separate without dissolution of their civil partnership, but the existing CP must dissolve before a new one can be entered into. However, at least one full year is required to pass before there can be a CP dissolution, and the couple must be able to prove to a court that the relationship has “irretrievably broken down”, and on a permanent basis. The same conditions are necessary for acquisition of divorce.

International non-heterosexual couples are automatically recognized in the UK and do not need to be separately registered; there are, however, certain conditions which must be met, outlined in sections 212 and 218 of the act. In 2010, at the publication of this text, Vermont was the only US state whose marriages were fully accepted. Regardless, all international couples wishing to stay here long term and have their union recognized are advised to seek legal advice just to ensure that all ducks are in the correct row.

The Gender Recognition Act enables transsexual/transgender persons to change their legal gender by obtaining a full Gender Recognition Certificate. The United Kingdom only recognizes a person by their legal gender as stated upon their birth certificate, which is why this act is important. The aforementioned Gender Recognition Certificate is required to receive a new birth certificate with the modified gender listed.

If the transgendered person in question is involved in a marriage, a divorce must take place before the certificate can be granted.

Although discrimination against persons of either gender engaged in a marriage or a civil partnership, there are no laws regarding singleness. Apparently you cannot be denied a job for being married/partnered but you certainly can for being lonely. Interesting. Also, discrimination against transgender people at any stage of their reassignment is illegal, except in certain cases, such as women’s refuges, etc.

So although British law is willing to provide all its people the legal benefits of a legal union, it’s also very set on keeping non-hetero unions out of the church. Whether or not this is positive is perhaps dependent upon perspective: is the distinction between marriage and civil partnership a detriment toward the equalization of people? Would we/they be better off under a common umbrella, or does it really matter? If both unions share the same benefits and legal status, should it matter? Is it the law’s job to protect a church? These questions are philosophical in nature and therefore infinitely arguable; I cannot answer them and I won’t attempt to.

[Update: I forgot to mention (for anybody who may not know) that England has a State-recognized religion, which is, of course, Christianity. They don't deny anybody the right to practice other religions--at least not as far as I could tell--but the national religion is one which is protected by laws. This is an important factor to note when asking the aforementioned ethical questions.]

Citizens Advice Guide to Your Rights. Penguin 2008: London

Howlett, Amanda. Knowing Your Rights and Using the Courts. 3^rd Edition. Straightforward Publishing, 2010: Brighton