Petition update
High Court Ruling
29 Jan 2016 — Well things haven’t gone our way at the High Court today.
We’re deeply disappointed to share with you the news that our Judicial Review claim has not been successful. We know that you will share our disappointment.
The Judge ruled against us because she decided that our case did not fall within the ambit of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, a right to respect for one’s private and family life. The Judge also ruled that the Government is entitled to take its time to decide on the future of civil partnerships in order to avoid costs resulting from changing legislation too soon. The Judge did however acknowledge that there will be many people who sympathise with our view “that it is unfair that a route to state recognition of their relationship which is open to a same-sex couple…remains unavailable to them because they are heterosexual.” But this did not prove, in her judgement, to be sufficient grounds for a ruling in our favour.
Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, summed up our feelings better that we can at this moment. He said:
“This is a defeat for love and equality. It will be a huge disappointment to the thousands of heterosexual couples who would like to have a civil partnership. The court has rejected the principle that in a democratic society everyone should be equal before the law. It says that opposite-sex couples are not entitled to the same choices as same-sex ones. It cannot be right that same-sex couples have two options, civil partnerships and civil marriages; whereas opposite-sex partners have only one option, marriage. This legal case was always about the simple quest to end discrimination and ensure equality for all. I hope Charles and Rebecca will appeal and that justice will prevail in the end.”
Whilst the High Court judgment is a setback, the fight for equal civil partnerships continues. Over 36,000 of us have already written to the Minister for Women and Equalities, Nicky Morgan MP, asking her to open civil partnerships to all. We will continue pressing the Government to reconsider its position, and are buoyed by the fact that former Children’s Minister, Tim Loughton MP, has a Ten Minute Rule Bill scheduled to receive its second reading today. The Bill, which is backed by a large number of MPs from across the political spectrum, including Caroline Lucas, Andy Slaughter and Stephen Twigg, proposes to remove the clause limiting civil partnerships to same-sex couples. Please tweet or email your MP today to let them know why you care about this issue. You can send your MP a free letter here:https://mrpostman.co/widget/index.php/site/campaign?CampaignCode=EqualCivilPartnerships.
We are resolute in our conviction that civil partnerships should be available to all, regardless of sexual orientation: to ensure equal treatment under the law; to enable couples to celebrate and cement their relationships in a way that is right for them; and to ensure that the UK’s three million cohabiting couples can give their children the same level of security afforded to married parents.
We have lots to build on and this is just the start of the next chapter, not the end of the story. The issue is not going away.
We will now take a few weeks to digest the ruling, to talk to our legal team and campaign group and to decide on next steps. We will be in touch soon with actions that you can take to help us build on what we’ve all achieved so far. In the meantime, thank you for all your messages of support and for helping us come this far.
The work continues.
Rebecca and Charles
Jimsrant Blog 