by Tony Rucinski, Coalition for Marriage
The European Commission has launched its new LGBTIQ+ Equality Strategy 2026-2030. It promotes legal gender self declaration and urges Member States to make gender recognition “free from age restrictions”. It also promises to “publish a study… [to] take appropriate action to combat conversion practices”. “Rainbow families” are a key concern.
Britain may be outside the EU, but our policies track the same path:
- New statutory RSHE guidance dropped the age rules for “sensitive” topics. It instructs schools not to teach as fact that “all people have a gender identity”, while leaving wide scope for gender identity content at earlier ages if a school judges it appropriate.
- An equalities minister has, in the last week, stated that the Government remains committed to “a full trans inclusive ban on conversion practices”, with a draft Bill promised for pre legislative scrutiny. A ‘conversion practices’ offence would impact pastoral care and parental guidance.
- Same sex female couples can already have both names on a UK child’s birth certificate; those with a Gender Recognition Certificate have long been able to obtain a new birth certificate in their affirmed sex. We’ve long since obscured biological lineage and normalised non biological parent recording in law.
- Official figures show that in April to June 2025, 20% of adoption orders went to same sex couples and that number is set to rise.
For generations, most UK children grew up with their married mum and dad. That norm is being displaced in law and practice. Equality frameworks now deter public bodies from affirming man woman marriage as the social gold standard.