EQUAL RIGHTS: ARE WE THERE YET?

PETER TATCHELL SPEAKS FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY

ARTIST: SHEPARD FAIREY

BY ALEX HOPKINS

Committing to the person we love should be a joyful occasion. The years of searching for our soul mate are over as we stand in front of friends and family and proudly proclaim our love. It should be an easy process and our struggles should be in the past.

For LGBT people, however, just getting to this stage is a momentous fight in itself. While the gay community enjoy more rights than ever before, the ban on same sex marriage remains the last piece of legal discrimination. It inhibits our freedom and should not be endured.

It was this unfinished business that legendary Human Rights campaigner Peter Tatchell boldly addressed in a talk hosted by The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association on Friday. Tatchell’s group Outrage! is behind the nationwide 'Equal Love' campaign which advocates the removal of the ban on same sex civil marriage and opposite sex civil partnerships. With the coalition government having announced that they are going to consult on further reforming marriage laws, this was a timely discussion.

“Marriage was a patriarchal, sexist, misogynistic structure that was designed solely for the inheritance of property,” said Tatchell. “It made a prison of women, of children and of LGBTI people. While marriage is not for me, as a Human Rights campaigner I accept that it is evolving and that people should be able to make whatever choices that is best for them.”

It is this fundamental right of personal choice that is at the heart of the Equal Love campaign. Gay and straight people have joined forces to rally against an outmoded system that denies couples the right to decide how they form a loving union. At present LGBT people have the choice of civil partnerships, but for many this is simply not enough. Indeed, all of the options are limited depending on orientation – heterosexual people are not allowed civil partnerships and LGBT couples can’t enter into a civil marriage.

“Civil partnerships are fine for those who want them,” added Tatchell, “but this is a separate system. Put simply, it is segregation. Can you imagine the Jewish or Black communities standing for that? Of course not, and why should we?”

With 65% of British people saying that they believe same-sex marriage should be allowed the obvious question is why the ban has not been removed. The obvious and accurate answer once again lies at the feet of the U.K.’s politicians. It is for this reason that Tactchell has taken the case to The European Court of Human Rights.

As always, it is difficult to predict the court’s outcome, although some expect there to be a compromise judgement. With other European countries allowing gay marriage, however, the hope is that the outcome will follow this consensus.

“My ideal for the future is an entirely new framework for looking at relationships,” enthused Tatchell. “I am in favour of a Civil Commitment Pact which allows a person to nominate their next of kin and pick from a menu of rights and responsibilities.”

With there being so many different types and models of relationships today this certainly seems to be an eminently sensible option. Sadly, it is unlikely that we are going to see this just yet. For the time being our emphasis should be on promoting a discussion that foregrounds personal choice to suit different couples. Some may opt for civil marriage, some for civil partnerships and others for something else. It’s the first step towards Tatchell’s quest for tailor made partnership agreements.

It is never clear exactly what lies ahead, but what is apparent is that the law needs to catch up with public opinion. The essence of a democracy is that the legal system respects freedom of choice and at the moment both gay and straight people are deprived of this. As we tackle this challenge, however, it we must take courage in the fact that no other social movement has made so many strides in legal equality so quickly. This is our final hurdle and working together we can overcome it.