Reality of gay lifeA letter to the editor from Martin Bowley inThe Sunday Times, 28th. May, 2000, page 20. "e;The description of long-term committed same-sex relationships as 'parodies of heterosexual family life' by Melanie Phillips is as offensive as it is untrue (Comment, last week). My late partner and I shared our lives in every way for nearly 15 years - socially and sexually, economically and emotionally. We were a family. With the single exception of the ability to procreate we functioned in exactly the same way as any heterosexual couple. And there are many such couples where procreation cannot or does not take place, but which would be generally and widely recognised as families."e;"e;Phillips is equally inaccurate when she claims that 'the government wants to load the legal dice against men accused of rape in oder to bump up convictions'. Although the report of theSexual Offences Review group- of which I was a member - has been with ministers since early April and is expected to be published in early June, no decisions as to the content or extent of any legislation have yet been been taken. Ministers will decide what will or will not be included in any Sex Offences Bill after public consultation. I look forward to that public debate. The report is wide-ranging and covers the whole range of human sexuality. Is it too much to ask that journalists read it before they condemn it?"e;
Guilds' gay rights voteby Alexandra Frean inThe Times, 21st. June, 2000, page 15. "e;The Townswomen's Guilds will vote today on whether same-sex couples should be given equal rights in law to married heterosexuals. About 3,000 townswomen are expected at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool to hear the homosexual rights activistAngela Masonspeak for the motion. Although the Guilds, which have 80,000 members, have not found anybody to speak against her, several members are expected to voice their concerns at the annual National Council meeting."e;Marriage is not what it was ...by Karen Gold inThe Times Higher Education Supplement, 7th. July, 2000, page 17. "e;Social historianAlan Braywas eating breakfast in a Cambridge college when a member of the audience at his previous evening's lecture on homosexuality and religion approached. 'Alan, you ought to see this', he said, and took him to a monument in the chapel of Christ's College. It was a tomb in which two men were buried together: Sir John Finche and Sir Thomas Baines. In the inscription that Finche wrote in 1684 for the dead friend with whom he was eventually entombed, he described their relationship as 'animorum connubium': a marriage of souls. Seeing this monument started Bray, who lectures at Birkbeck College, London, on a journey through Oxford and Cambridge college chapels and English country churches, looking for similar memorials to friends of the same sex who were sworn - in the old term 'wedded' - brothers and sisters. So far he has found 30. They led him in turn to examine a long-forgotten ceremony in the Christian church, that lasted from the 11th to the 17th century, in which same-sex friends could undergo a church ceremony, a votive mass blessing their friendship while they received communion together, once they had exchanged promises of undying friendship in the public space of the church. Aristocrats were not the only people who did this, says Bray. There is evidence from property records, romances and histories that kinship ceremonies were used by minor court officials, peasant farmers, merchants and monks. The parallels with marriage ceremony are clear, he says: 'It was not a marriage. It was like a marriage - not in that it was sexual - but in that it was a kinship created by a promise or ritual. In modern society we only have one form of that, which is marriage. But we used to have more'."e;Seeits presentation to the Catholic church.Injustice as gay couples are denied equal rightsby Lesley Curwen inThe Guardian: Money, 5th. August, 2000, pages 8-9. "e;Sixty-seven-year-old Ron Strank and his partner Roger Fisher recently celebrated their 40th. anniversary together. Each has an NHS pension, but neither would inherit any benefits from the other pension scheme if the other member of the couple dies first. That's because the NHS pension scheme recognises only a spouse as eligible for a survivor's pension, and that means husband and wife. None of the UK's public sector pension schemes provides partners' pensions, though a programme being broadcast today on Radio 4 oulines how the situation is changing for many company pensions."e;"e;Ron and Roger would also be subject to inheritance tax if one of them dies and leaves more than 234,000; married partners who leave money and property to each other are exempt from this tax."e;
New pension deal for same-sex partnersby Patrick Collinson inThe Guardian: Money, 5th. August, 2000, page 9. "e;A gay financial advisor this month launches a new pension scheme aimed at helping gays and lesbians avoid the discriminatory problems encountered by Ron Strank and partner Roger Fisher - but he admits that it is at best only a partial solution ..."e;."e;Phil Carvosso of Carvosso and Company has designed the Equality pension in which a lesbian or gay man who has a frozen final salary scheme from a former employer transfers into a personal pension, which lets them nominate their partners as the beneficiary if they die."e;
"e;Louis Letourneau of Rainbow Finance says: 'You have to be extremely careful about recommending a transfer, even if your pension is a 'frozen' one with a former employer."e;
"e;Instead, Mr Letourneau recommends that gays and lesbians should lobby pension trustees for change."e;
Leading Tory comes out for gay marriagesby Gaby Hinsliff inThe Observer, 27th. August, 2000, page 1. "e;Steven Norris, the vice-chairman of the Conservative Party, was last night plunged into controversy when he became the first prominent Tory politician to back gay 'marriages' and supported giving homosexual couples the same rights as heterosexuals. In an appeal for a softening of his party's line, Norris, appointed by William Hague to woo new voters, toldThe Observerthe Tories need 'educating' out of anti-homosexual prejudices and criticised some of his colleagues' use of racially discriminatory language."e;"e;Norris said he saw 'no moral barrier' to the civil registration of gay partnerships, entitling them to the same rights as married couples over inheritance and tax."e;
"e;A Labour spokesman pointed out that Shadow Home Secretary Ann Widdecombe has said that the idea of same-sex registered partnerships is 'a travesty'."e;
Gays tie knot in Coronation Streetby Helen Carter inThe Guardian, 29th. August, 2000, page 7. "e;The cobbles and terraced houses of Coronation Street - one of the most popular soap operas in Britain - were the backdrop for a series of gay 'weddings' at the weekend. Gay couples who wished to celebrate, affirm and symbolise their relationships chose to do so at the Granada studio set in Manchester during GayFest 2000. The site also hosted live music, drag queens performing in the Rovers Return pub, cinema and club events. Andy Braunston, the pastor from the city's lesbian and gay Metropolitan Community church, initially planned to conduct the ceremonies outside Underworld - the soap's underwear factory - because it was sheltered from the rain. But when the storm clouds lifted, he set up his alter outside the corner shop."e;"e;Barry Whyment-McCarthy and his partner Lewis, from Manchester, who have been together since December 19 last year, were the first to marry."e;
"e;Then Eddie and Darren Donothey from Newcastle, who have been together for six years, tied the knot."e;
"e;Edna Boughen and Barbara Jackson, from Hertford, said their vows after more than 26 years together. The couple won the 'wedding' in an internet competition."e;
Hague and Norris split over gaysby Nicholas Watt inThe Guardian, 31st. August, 2000, page 10. "e;Steven Norris, the defeated Tory candidate for London mayor, found himself at odds yesterday with William Hague, weeks after being drafted into central office to improve the party's image among gay and ethnic minority voters."e;"e;In his first interview since his summer holiday, the Tory leader said he disagreed with Mr Norris's recent suggestion that gay marriages should be treated equally under the law."e;
Should same-sex marriages be legalised?by Evan Davis and Terry Sanderson inThe Guardian: Saturday Review, 2nd. September, 2000, page 2. Exchanges of letters between the two authors in which Evan Davis argues for the legalisation of same-sex marriages and Terry Sanderson argues against.Evan Davis:"e;At the moment, I am allowed a boyfriend; I can go to dinner parties with him, and maybe even the office Christmas party. Friends may even come to think of us as a couple. But relationships are one thing; marriage gives us something extra. It signals a mutual expectation that our relationship is more committed and more durable than a casual fling. And it tells the world to treat us as such: to invite us to dinner parties together, to support and counsel us and even not to lead us into temptation."e;"e;Marriage helps couples rise above the day-to-day challenges of staying together - and that can help them find fulfillment as a result."e;
Terry Sanderson:"e;What exactly is marriage going to bring to your relationship that isn't there already? Rules, that's what. And as heterosexuals have discovered to their cost, swearing to abide by a lot of unreasonable rules, invented by a misogynistic and homophobic church, can bring nothing but trouble. The fundamental advantage of gay relationships have over marriage is that we can tailor them precisely to our requirements. We can make it up as we go along, change with the circumstances and go with the flow. We don't have to promise sexual exclusivity or to share our worldly goods if we don't want to. We don't have to live together if it's inconvenient or unwanted. We don't have to struggle to fit into someone else's idea of what is the 'right' way to do things."e;
It is time for the law to stop legislating against lovebyJeanette WintersoninThe Guardian: G2, 10th. July, 2001, page 8. "e;My mother used to say: 'Why be happy when you could be normal?' This autumn, Lord Lester of Herne Hill, a Liberal Democratic peer, will sponsor a private members bill in the Lords, to introduce a civil partnership register. This will give gay couples the same legal rights as married couples. If it succeeds, happy/normal won't be an alternative, it will amount to the same thing."e;Soon the bells could ring out for gays and lesbiansby Jo Dillon inThe Independent on Sunday, 19th. August, 2001, page 3. "e;Civil partnerships, a crucial step towards giving gay and lesbian couples equal rights, will be considered by both Houses of Parliament this autumn. Liberal Democrat peer Lord Lester of Herne Hill will introduce a private member's Bill in the Lords calling for registered unmarried partnerships to be given legal status. The Labour MP Jane Griffiths will bring in a similar motion in the Commons. Both are backed by the gay rights pressure groupStonewall. Their actions will increase pressure on the Government, which has so far resisted change, to recognise unmarried partnerships. The London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, will launch his London Partnership Register for same-sex couples in September. The Greater London Authority already has a waiting list of couples wanting 'marriage ceremonies'. Further weight will be added to the cause by MPs' recent decision to vote for pension rights for their own unmarried partners."e;Couple use first gay partners registerby Melissa Kite inThe Times, 31st. August, 2001, page 3. "e;A retired actor and a male nurse will be the first homosexual couple in Britain to have their partnership registered in a civil ceremony. Ian Burford, a former member of the English Shakespeare Company, and Alexander Cannell, a retired nursing manager, will sign the London Partnership Register at the headquarters of the Greater London Authority on Wednesday."e;"e;Since the Mayor announced his intention to create a register in February, hundreds of couples have expressed an interest in joining the register. In the event of a relationship breaking down, the entry would be annulled, a GLA official said."e;
London couple first to sign gay registerby John Carvel inThe Guardian, 3rd. September, 2001, page 9. "e;Ian Burford, a retired actor, and Alexander Cannell, a senior male nurse, will this week become the first gay couple in Britain to register their partnership in a civil ceremony organised by London mayor Ken Livingstone. They began their relationship 38 years ago when homosexuality was illegal. Now in their 60s, they have decided to become pioneers of a scheme to register same-sex partnerships as a step towards full equality under the law. The ceremony at the Greater London authority headquarters in Westminster on Wednesday will not purport to be a gay wedding."e;"e;A desire to contribute to this political momentum was the trigger for Linda Wilkinson, 49, and Carol Budd, 48, of Bethnal Green, east London, to step forward as the second same-sex couple to join the registration scheme this week."e;
Gay and ethnic minority couples given 5m boostby Robert Verkaik inThe Independent, 4th. September, 2001, page 7. "e;Homosexual and other unmarried couples are to benefit from a 5m government scheme that is intended to support family life, particularly in the case of minority groups that have previously been overlooked. The Government said in plans published yesterday that it wanted to help a wider range of organisations that counsel couples. Rosie Winterton, a minister at the Lord Chancellor's Department, said in a new guide accompanying the revised grant programme that family life was the 'foundation on which our communities, our society and our country are built'."e;Mayor's bouquet for first official gay partnershipby Elizabeth Judge and Frances Gibb inThe Times, 6th. September, 2001, page 7. "e;Ian Burford, 68, a former member of the English Shakespeare Company, and Alexander Cannell, 62, a retired nursing manager, cemented their 38-year relationship in a ten-minute ceremony that they hope will lead to equal rights for gay couples. If the venue, the visitors' room of the Greater London Authority in Marsham Street, Westminster, was somewhat sterile, it did little to dampen the enthusiasm of 25 guests who cheered as the couple, who live in Battersea, south-west London, professed their love before signing the official London Partnerships Register. 'This is not a marriage but it is a recognition of the value of our partnership and a first step in changing certain anomalies in certain laws,' Mr Burford said. 'Alex is the most important person in my life and I am in his.' In a second ceremony Linda Wilkinson, 49, a playwright, and Carol Budd, 48, a computer consultant, from Bethnal Green, East London, said: 'We are not doing this to ape heterosexual marriage. We are doing this because we believe it is another nail in the coffin of the prejudice that denies us our fundamental rights as human beings'."e;After 28 years, the union of Alex and Ian has finally got official blessingby Julia Stuart inThe Independent, 6th. September, 2001, page 3. "e;It may have been Britain's first civil ceremony to register a gay partnership but in some ways it was just like any other wedding."e;"e;The couple, who already wore gold bands on their left hands, declined appeals from the photographers to kiss. 'We leave that to the footballers,' Mr Cannell had previously told them. He too was dressed in a stone colour suit, but gave it a sense of occasion with a bow tie and yellow silk scarf. The only person at the ceremony giving off a discernable whiff of excitable celebration was the comedy actress Su Pollard, who used to work with Mr Burford. She tottered in clutching a box of confetti (which was strictly against the rules) and wearing a red sequinned jacket, oversized diamonte studded glasses and a purple gerbera tucked behind her ear. She signalled the end of the event by blowing one of those squeaky unravelling whistles usually sounded at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve."e;
Don't celebrate too soon: UK courts will not recognise gay 'marriages'by Robert Verkaik inThe Independent, 6th. September, 2001, page 3. "e;Despite the joy which accompanied yesterday's 'gay marriages', the certificate the couples took home with them will be worth little more than a souvenir. The courts in this country cannot recognise a 'gay marriage', or indeed a 'gay divorce', until Parliament passes primary legislation to create such a state of matrimony. To the disappointment of many civil rights campaigners, such a prospect still appears a long way off. Jack Straw, when he was Home Secretary, said he believed marriage was intended for heterosexual couples who wanted to have children. There is no reason to think that the new Home Secretary, David Blunkett, has formed a different opinion."e;Lasting vows: Parliament must widen marriage rightseditorial comment inThe Guardian, 23rd. January, 2002, page 19. "e;The bill, alas, has no chance of being enacted, even though the extension of marriage rights to unmarried heterosexual or gay couples in stable relationships is long overdue. But Friday's debate in the Lords will still be intriguing. Just what position are ministers going to take? They have already signalled they will not be supporting Lord Lester's private bill on the grounds that a Law Commission report on the issue is due this year."e;