THE HOUSES of Parliament in Westminster hosted their first gay civil partnership ceremony on Saturday for British Labour minister for Europe Chris Bryant and his partner, Jared Cranney.
The ceremony was hosted by the speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow, and the leader of the House of Commons and Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman.
In a statement, the two men said they were enormously grateful to the speaker and Ms Harman for agreeing to the ceremony. “We never thought this day would come – and never thought we’d have to worry about cakes and flowers and rings. It’s amazing how much things have changed in such a short time.”
Ms Harman said it had been “a very lovely ceremony” and a historic day.
Gay civil partnership ceremonies have been legal in the UK since the Civil Partnership Act of 2004 came into force. Since then, more than 50,000 couples have taken part. UK prime minister Gordon Brown recently suggested that ceremonies should be hosted in the Westminster parliament to make it more representative of modern life.
Mr Bryant is the first to have a ceremony in Westminster. Culture secretary Ben Bradshaw tied the knot elsewhere in 2006, as did Conservative MP Alan Duncan and his partner in 2008.
The legislation bestows the same rights and responsibilities as civil marriage, including property rights, equal inheritance tax, social security and pension benefits. Partners are also entitled to tenancy rights, life insurance recognition and next-of-kin rights.
Couples can also be given parental responsibility rights for a partner’s children. They also become responsible for partner/children maintenance.
The partnerships can be dissolved according to normal divorce laws.
Meanwhile, leading Church of England figures, including former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord George Carey, have launched a strong attack on the social legislation passed by the Labour Party during its 13 years in power, complaining that “in a number of cases, Christian beliefs on marriage, conscience and worship are not being upheld”.
