Pink Wedding Days | Gay Marriage and Civil Partnerships Blog

Northern Ireland has legalised same-sex marriage.  It brings the country in line with the rest of the United Kingdom with the first gay weddings expected to take place on February 14 th 2020. Equal marriage has been legal in England, Wales and Scotland since 2014. Over the years, campaigners have made numerous legal challenges arguing the ban  is discriminatory but all have been unsuccessful. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has been the biggest political sticking point having blocked all previous attempts at legislation. Why Now? Northern Ireland’s legislative assembly hasn’t sat at Stormont since January 2017 when power-sharing between the DUP and Sinn Fein collapsed.  Subsequent attempts to restore a devolved Government to Northern Ireland have failed. MPs in Westminster voted 383 to 73 in July 2019 in favour of legalising both same-sex marriage and abortion in Northern Ireland.   This gave a 3-month window and a...

Same-sex couples have a disadvantage when it comes to choosing a honeymoon destination.  Straight married couples don’t worry about their relationship offending someone or whether a simple romantic gesture like holding hands will draw abuse. Homosexuality is illegal in 70 UN member states.  According to CNN , six have imposed the death penalty for consensual same-sex sexual acts. Okay, so it’s unlikely that places like Yemen and Saudi Arabia will be pinned to your Pinterest board but Brunei might be. In Brunei, same-sex relationships are now punishable by death. Gay sex in Tanzania can land you in prison.  What about a trip to St Petersburg or a safari in Kenya?  You might like a shopping trip to Dubai or a tour of India’s Golden Triangle.  Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos don’t have any specific laws against homosexuality, but they’re generally very intolerant to LGBTQ travellers. Of course, plenty of LGBTQ travellers will go to these places and exper...

MPs in Westminster have voted 383 to 73 in favour of legalising same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland.    A vote was also passed which could see abortion decriminalised provided that the Northern Irish assembly doesn’t reform before October 2019. Northern Ireland’s de-evolved Government hasn’t sat since January 2017 when power-sharing between the DUP and Sinn Fein collapsed.   Gay marriage has been legal in England, Scotland and Wales since 2015.  The DUP and Sinn Fein disagree on many issues but few are as contentious as same-sex marriage and abortion.  If the assembly were to re-form before October, it’s almost certain that the DUP would take measures to stop any legislation promoting same-sex marriage.  LGBT campaigner JohnO’Doherty was reported by the Canary as saying: “Our future got a little brighter today and we hope that LGBT people across Northern Ireland will wake up tomorrow feeling more hopeful for the future we all want to...

The law commission is conducting a 2-year review into “outdated” wedding venue rules which could give couples more choice on where they get married.  Only a venue pre-approved by a local council can legally hold wedding ceremonies and the commission will look at whether this reflects modern British society or not. It means that a couple may be able to get married in a back garden or in their own home.   An overhaul of the current law would be good news for anyone planning a wedding after the 2-year review is up. Wider choice would allow for greater personalisation of the wedding ceremony.  It’s not everyone who wants to be married in a church, hotel or country house.  It is also likely to make ceremonies more cost-effective. Music to anyone’s ears when you consider that the average cost of a UK wedding venue is now over £4,000. Currently, ceremonies held in non-approved locations or outdoors are not legally binding.  Couples have to formalise ...

June 1 st is the start of Pride Month and Barnardo’s is keen to hear from any LGBT couples interested in being foster carers to vulnerable children.   We think this is such an important topic and when we read Stephen and Wayne’s story we knew we had to share it with our readers. Stephen and Wayne White describe fostering through Barnardo’s as “the best thing we’ve ever done”. Stephen, a 34-year-old manager, and Wayne, a 30-year-old part-time care-worker, live in Coleshill in Warwickshire. They were approved for fostering in December and it was just a few weeks later that they were introduced to a young boy, Thomas (not his real name), now aged eleven. Stephen said: “We both come from large families where several of our own relatives had been fostered or adopted and we always considered them to be genuine members of our family - they were simply our aunts, uncles or cousins. “So, when the time was right, we started to do a lot of research into foste...

Taiwan has legalised gay marriage just days before the end of a two-year deadline set by the Constitutional Court.   Taiwan is now the first country in Asia to allow same-sex marriage with campaigners hopeful that it could spur neighbouring countries in the region to follow suit. In May 2017, Taiwan’s Constitutional Court had ruled that any ban on equal marriage was unconstitutional.   Up until that point, the law had been clear: marriage was between a man and a woman only.  The Court gave the Government two years either to update the pre-existing law or to create a new one. A referendum in November 2018, however, showed that most people in Taiwan didn’t actually believe in guaranteeing rights for LGBTQ couples on the island.  It put the Government in a rather difficult situation: between the proverbial rock and hard place and caught or rather between the people’s vote on the issue and the demands of the Constitutional Court.  Despite t...

Taiwan could be the first Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage. On May 24 th 2017, Taiwan’s Constitutional Court ruled that the country’s ban on equal marriage was unfair to same-sex couples .  Giving the Taiwanese Government two years to put the law into place, the Constitutional Court’s deadline is now fast approaching: May 24 th 2019. Taiwan News reports that 157 gay couples have so far registered to get married on May24th despite the fact there’s ‘ongoing uncertainty over how Taiwan's legislature will handle competing demands from groups in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage and those opposed’ Taiwan news goes on to say that the Taipei City Government has opened telephone and on-site bookings for couples. Despite the ruling of the Constitutional Court, the road to legalisation hasn’t been as smooth as campaigners had hoped.  During a referendum in November 2018, most voters elected to demonstrate that they did not agree with guarantee...

In 2001, The Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage. Since then many others have followed suit bringing the current total (in April 2019) to 28.  In Which Countries is Gay Marriage Legal?  Argentina (2010) Australia (2017) Austria Belgium (2003) Brazil (2013) Canada (2005) Columbia (2011) Denmark (2012) England (2014) Finland (2017) France (2013) Germany (2017) Iceland (2010) Ireland (2015) Luxembourg (2014) Malta (2017) Mexico (2009) Netherlands (2001) New Zealand (2013) Norway (2009) Portugal (2010) Scotland (2014) South Africa (2006) Spain (2005) Sweden (2009) United States (2015) Uruguay (2012) Wales (2014) We’re hopeful that 2019, 2020 and beyond will see more countries legalising gay marriage and allowing gay couples the same relationship rights as heterosexuals.  Where Might Gay Marriage become Legal in 2019? Japanese LGBTQ campaigners have taken their case to a ...

It doesn’t matter whether you’re planning a straight, gay or bi wedding – families can make things difficult .  LGBTQ couples have the additional headache of deciding whether or not to invite relatives that don’t support same-sex marriage .  It’s hurtful and it adds additional pressure and stress onto what is already a difficult time of planning.  When you’re curating your guest list the question is: should you invite a homophobic relative to your gay wedding?   No – that’s our gut reaction.   If someone can’t give you 100% love and support on your wedding day, then they shouldn’t be there.  For some couples, it’s as straightforward as that.   But it isn’t always that simple, is it? It rarely is when family are involved.  Only you can decide whether or not that person (or those people) deserves to be a guest at your wedding.  You hold the power.  You’re the inviter-in-chief.  But before you make a...

The Cayman Islands has legalised same-sex marriage after a court ruled that its gay wedding ban was unconstitutional.  The Cayman Islands are a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean Sea between Cuba and Jamaica. Despite abundant natural beauty and wall-to-wall sunshine, the islands are probably best known as being a tax haven for the super-rich. Last week, the islands were put on the map for something altogether more heart-warming: the right for individuals to marry regardless of sexuality. Chantelle Day and Vickie Bodden applied to be married in 2018 but were turned down on account of their sexuality.   According to Reuters, Chantelle Day was denied a spousal visa and was not recognised as the legal mother of the couple’s adopted daughter. What the case proves is that legalising same-sex marriage isn’t only about allowing two people to become wife and wife or husband and husband but about giving couples access to the raft of spousal benefits and legal...

The United Methodist church has voted to uphold its ban on same-sex marriage by adopting the ‘traditional plan’ and re-affirming that homosexuality is not compatible with the Christian faith. What is the United Methodist Church? The United Methodist Church (UMC) is the largest mainline Protestant religion in the United States.  Set up in 1968 in Texas, the UMC traces its roots back to the founding of Methodism by John and Charles Wesley in England in 1739 . The UMC has 13 million members but whilst congregations are growing in parts of Africa and in South Korea, numbers are falling in the US.  What does UMC believe about homosexuality? The UMC believes in the ‘sacred worth’ of everyone but it does not support same-sex marriage nor does it endorse homosexual relationships.  This ‘hate the sin but love the sinner approach’ has been adopted by various Christian denominations. The UMC motto is Open hearts. Open minds. Open doo...