Straight couple wage court battle for right to enter civil partnership
A straight couple trying to get a civil partnership for over a decade are taking their case to the Court of Appeal on November 2.
Rebecca Steinfeld and partner Chris Keidan applied for a civil partnership in 2004 but were turned down, as they are only open to same-sex couples.
They then took their case to the High Court, however the application was rejected again.
Now they are preparing to enter court once more to make their case, to appeal the ruling on November 2. They say if they are denied again, they will go to the Supreme Court and, if that fails, the European Court of Human Rights.
There has been some progress since they last petitioned the government.
Earlier this month, the first civil partnership between a man and woman occurred on the Isle of Man, between Claire Beale and Martin Loat.
They told the BBC the UK should “follow the Isle of Man’s lead and end discrimination against heterosexuals seeking civil partnerships”.
Rebecca Steinfeld said: “There’s been lots of positive progress over the last few months.
“The Isle of Man has introduced same-sex marriage and different-sex civil partnerships, showing how easy and possible it is to attain full relationship equality.”
In the UK, marriage between people of the same sex is legal everywhere except Northern Ireland. Civil partnerships are legal for same sex couples but not for straight couples, with the recent exception of the Isle of Man.
Former equalities minister Baroness Featherstone previously revealed on PinkNews that she had pushed for straight civil partnerships alongside same-sex marriage. However David Cameron reportedly struck down the proposal.
