Responses to Civil Partnership:A framework for the legal recognition ...

Many married couples do not have children but their access to the rightsand responsibilities of marriage are not limited because they do not raisea family. There is no justification for limiting same-sex couples’ rights andresponsibilities if they do not have children.ImplementationQ. Will the Government publicise this properly, educating the public andemployers about the new legal status?A. Yes. The introduction of a civil partnership scheme would be an importantsocial change and employers would need guidance on what the schemewould mean for them and their employees. The culture change that wouldflow from the recognition of same-sex couples’ relationships would lead toa greater appreciation of diversity and the Government actively supportsthis.Q. If we register a civil partnership will we have to declare our sexual orientationevery time we fill out a form?A. It is envisaged that Government forms currently asking for details of aperson’s “marital status” would be altered to read “civil status”. Thiscategory would then include both marriage and civil partnership and therewould be no automatic presumption of someone’s sexual orientation.Other requests for personal details would be amended, wherever possible,to ensure that references specific to marriages or civil partnerships werereplaced with neutral terms.41