Gay rights campaigners have launched petition to call for gay marriages and straight civil partnerships in the UK. The Equal Love campaign, led by Peter Tatchell, has already filed a case at the European Court of Human Rights. Reports UK’s Pink News
Currently the UK allows gay couples to have civil partnerships. But there is a growing push towards full equal rights for gay couples and campaigners say it is also unfair that straight couples cannot get civil partnerships.
Speaking to PinkNews.co.uk, Mr Tatchell said the petition will eventually be presented to prime minister David Cameron. Campaigners hope to collect at least 15,000 signatures.
Stressing that only UK residents can sign the petition, Mr Tatchell said: “There is no justification for having two mutually exclusive and discriminatory systems.
“The bans on same-sex civil marriages and opposite-sex civil partnerships are a legal form of sexual apartheid – one law for gay couples and another law for heterosexual partners. Two wrongs don’t make a right. In a democratic society, we should all be equal before the law.”
The legal case submitted to the European Court of Human Rights in February involves four gay couples and four straight couples – each of whom attempted to register for a ceremony they are not entitled to.
The British government has 12 months in which to justify why the ban should remain.
Full story on PinkNews.co.uk
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