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Civil partnerships and equal marriage: the current position
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Hannah Saxe Irwin Mitchell ManchesterThe City of Manchester is getting ready for Manchester Pride this weekend and a hot topic for many of the festival goers and LGBT rights groups is likely to be the recent reforms surrounding equal marriage.
From 29 March 2014
same-sex couples have been able to marry in England and Wales thanks to the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013. This was a great stride forward in achieving equality for many people but there is still work to be done.
Opponents of the Act claimed that equal marriage was unnecessary as it has been possible for same-sex couples to enter into civil partnerships since 2004 giving them many of the same legal rights and responsibilities towards one another as married couples. There are however key differences between civil partnerships and marriage. For example a marriage is formed by saying prescribed wording or vows. A civil partnership is formed...
Read the full article here.
