News - LGBT news

Derived from an original article "Happy birthday Civil Partnerships" on Gay.com

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into effect on 5 Dec 05 and enables a same-sex couple to register as civil partners of each other. The Civil Partnership ‘birthday’ comes in the wake of the news that there were 15 672 partnerships between Dec 05 and Sep 06, according to the Office for National Statistics. The government expected 4500 by the end of 2006 and estimated between 11,000 and 22,000 by 2010.

The fact that the process has been so enthusiastically embraced reflects how keen the community was to step up to the podium, and in many ways, the numbers reflect society’s acceptance of that notion.

When Elton’s Civil Partnership makes the front pages and a gay couple get hitched in the Archers, you know that 2006 is a world away from 1986, when Section 28 was enacted by the Tory Government.

Earlier this year the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health published an article suggesting that Civil Partnerships could be good for the community’s collective health. Professor Michael King, of University College London, who co-wrote the article, said: "Civil partnerships are likely to break down some of the prejudice and promote greater understanding, including among staff working in the health service. Legal civil partnerships could increase the stability of same sex relationships and minimise the social exclusion to which gay and lesbian people are often subjected."