The Office for National Statistics has just released census figures for the years 2020, 2021, and 2022 that point to a significant change in marriage trends throughout England and Wales. The modern family unit is apparently evolving fast, and couples’ choices surrounding cohabitation, marriage, and civil partnerships is beginning to clearly reflect this. Most significantly,…
In November of this year, a group of 44 bishops from the Church of England issued a public statement in support of the LGBTQIA+ community, stating their hope that immediate action will be taken to allow priests within the clergy to enter same-sex civil marriages. This statement was put forth only a few weeks after…
Cohabiting, the act of living together whilst not being married (or in a civil union), is an increasingly popular choice, especially amongst younger generations. Recent surveys carried out by the Office of National Statistics estimate that the number of cohabiting couples has more than doubled in the past 20 years, from 1.5 million cohabiting…
On 10th October 2017, Michael and Kai Korok became the first gay couple to legally adopt a child in Germany just nine days after same-sex marriage became legal. The couple got married on October 2nd, the day after same-sex marriage became legal in Germany. As part of the legalisation of same-sex marriage, gay couples were…
Legal and Political Difficulties in a Conservative Province. Northern Ireland is the only jurisdiction in the United Kingdom in which no legislation has been passed to allow for same-sex marriage. Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, legislating for social policy is within the sole competency of the devolved assembly at Stormont….
On 21 February, Rebecca Steinfeld, a visiting research fellow at Goldsmiths, and Charles Keidan, editor of Alliance Magazine, asked the Court of Appeal to overturn an earlier High Court judgment refusing them judicial review of the decision of the Secretary of State for Education not to extend civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples. It is worth…
Quick Recap A few months ago, we were following the case of Rebecca Steinfield and Charles Keidan, a heterosexual couple living in London, who wished to challenge the English law regarding civil partnership rights for opposite sex couples. The pair rejected the notion of marriage on the grounds that it was a patriarchal institution and…
Around the world there are more than one billion people living in a region where gay couples can marry. However, this isn’t the case for Australia yet. There have been approximately 15 unsuccessful attempts made to amend the Marriage Act. When the Australian Capital Territory attempted to make same sex marriage legal within the Territory,…
We have without a doubt come a long way with social equality. The United States Supreme Court made the landmark decision to legalise gay marriage. In the United Kingdom, female couples who opt for fertility treatment have the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts to be shown as parents in the birth registration. Meanwhile, Pope…
The law touches nearly everything we do; from food regulations that make sure our food is safe to eat, to our fundamental rights as human beings. The law plays a part in even the most private parts of our lives, including the religion we follow and the person that we start a family with. Religion…