We need incentives to beef up marriage, not water it down
by Ann Farmer, TCW:
Marriage looks set for its ‘biggest shake-up in 200 years’ as the Government launches a review into giving heterosexual couples the right to enter civil partnerships.
Other changes would include entering the name and occupation of the bride’s mother on the marriage certificate, as well as her father. More controversially, couples would not receive a marriage certificate on their wedding day and would no longer sign the marriage register because a single electronic register will replace the current system of registers being held in churches. The disappearance of these age-old traditions is likely to cause consternation and disappointment to couples and their wedding guests.
The main driver for the introduction of heterosexual civil partnerships is the ‘equality’ case brought by one couple because they were excluded from an arrangement offered solely to same-sex couples; but even though same-sex civil partnerships offered the same legal benefits as marriage, significantly, these declined with the introduction of ‘marriage equality’ – ironically, championed by equality campaigners demanding equality of recognition. Now, apparently, civil partnerships must be offered on an equal basis to all heterosexuals because a tiny number want the benefits of marriage without being married.
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