Gay Marraige

[londonbarry]

I'm not normally an active member of this site. I love reading, but rarely participate. I find I'm frustrated sometimes in the views that some of you voice, but also I'm encouraged by how the majority how positive you all are. I must confess that I am a card carrying gay man in a long term relationship of 23 years with my partner. Honestly, what is all the fuss about allowing me to convert my civil partnership to a marriage. Hugs, Barry

[gness]

Well....learned something today. At 63 I'm a tad old to be giving birth so, if I were to meet the man of my dreams and marry, our marriage would be different to that of a younger couple who could reproduce? Neither of us would be giving birth so that would mean *inequality*...hmmmm.
Anyway Barry..I will only have a hissy fit about your marriage if you don't send me a bit of cake....love wedding cake.
Good luck...Gx

[tamborine]

How will marriage change your present relationship? 'If it works, dont fixit'

[Peter Pedant]

.

I have no intention of converting my civil union to anything else - it was only to prevent my grasping relatives from putting the person out on the street in the event of my death.

Clearly Parliament can't make RC priests marry gay people - or rabbis, sun worshippers.....and quakers and unitarians do anyway

so what is with it with the Anglican Church - which it can legislate for - Book of Common Prayer Act 1662 etc. Remember there is a civl thing called Divorce which is NOT recognised by the Anglican Church.

So it is a measure that affects the Anglican Church which the prelates and divines dont agree with. I dont know how an Old Etonian (dont they teach anything there nowadays ?) got into this mess.

I think it boils down to money myself. Marriage goes around in two bits (1752 Marriage Act) civil and religious. Anglican priests I think can certify the civil bit (for a feww of course) where as the minority religions can't - you have to hire a registrar to attend the ceremony. And the power to register a marriage has been converted by the Bill to a duty.

For my own minority religion the Cardinal Archbishop of whereever has stepped out of his confessional (where he was hearing the confession of a rather cute but still spotty thirteen year old) and spoken out against a measure that in no way affects him. No wonder you are confused.

Are you sure you can marry if you are partnered ?
I am not sure about that.


En France - which I have been watching closely - ze first gay marriage was carried out by a maire at the mairie with nairy a church or prelate in sight.
And THEY are a Roman Catholic country ! In the 1890s they went through a great anti-clericalism spat and have something called laicite which we dont. (separation of church and state)

[chrisgel]

Barry - I've been married 42 years and I have no problem with you or anyone else getting married or using the word marriage.
It's just a word and doesn't belong to anyone. Also your marriage will not take anything away from my marriage. I fully understand why gay couples would want to be married and wish you all the best in the future with the person you love.

[jim360]

Sir.Prize, I think you are fussing over some definition of equality that really carries no meaning whatsoever. Are you and I equal? No, in all sorts of ways -- colour of our hair, eyes, size and shape, interests and so on. Same goes for everyone on the planet. We all are different in often significant ways, and are therefore not equal.

That's really not the point though. Gay marriage is about equality of opportunity, not outright equality per se. The last is impossible but nobody should care anyway, since any two heterosexual marriages are unequal in the same way. The first is massively important, and is what true equality really means. Everyone should have in principle the same opportunities to marriage, education, employment etc. Then the only thing that should change is what they make of those opportunities in practice.

We don't even have this yet, because of inequalities in educational standards, for example -- but I digress. The only reason a gay person should not be able to marry is if they don't have someone who wants to marry them.

[netibiza]

I just do not see what all the fuss is about, what is the difference between civil partnership and marriage. You know you have a partner for life either way.

[Gavmacp]

Funny we had this conversation at work especially around how we 'see' marriage. Some people thought marriage was between a man and woman. I personally think marriage is between two people.