Civil Partnerships in Today’s Times
The term ‘civil partnership’ has been used a lot in the news lately, when it comes to same-sex relationships. Civil partnership allows same-sex couples to have the same rights as and responsibilities that a civil marriage brings about. Partners in a civil partnership will get the same property rights, the same exemptions and benefits on inheritance tax, social security and pension.
Partners will also be able to get parental responsibility, reasonable maintenance, next of kin rights at hospitals, and so on. Civil partnership is not the same as cohabitation. Cohabitation means that the couple is living together, without marriage or civil partnership. Civil partnership, on the other hand is legally recognised, and is required to be registered.
Civil Partnership was made legal in the UK in 2005. Nine years later, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act was introduced in 2014. The first same-sex marriages in England and Wales were conducted on March 29, 2014.
Since the introduction of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, the number of civil partnerships has fallen dramatically, with same-sex couples opting to rather get married.
It is interesting to note, that while same-sex couples were moving from civil partnerships to marriage, heterosexuals couples are starting to fight for the right to enter a civil partnership. Currently, in the UK, only same-sex couples are allowed to ask for one.
There are those who view the traditional marriage as sexist and patriarchal. And, as you are on this website, you may well be one of those people who agree. A civil partnership is viewed as a more equal partnership, and it is not burdened with sexist and patriarchal history of traditional marriage.
Civil partnership was a way to allow same-sex couples to have equal rights. However with the law not allowing opposite-sex couples to partake in a civil partnership, it shows that it does not view same-sex partnerships on an equal level as opposite-sex partnerships. Something to ponder about, perhaps!