The government today announced that same-sex couples now have the right to become civil partners on religious premises. The ruling is in an opt-in basis and will not force any religious group to conduct ceremonies.
So far, the Quakers and the Liberal Jews have said they will be happy to carry out same-sex unions. Senior representatives from the Catholic church, the Church of England and the Muslim community have said that they will choose to opt out.
Lynne Featherstone, Minister for Equalities, said: “Over the past few months I’ve spoken to a lot of LGBT people and campaign groups, and it quickly became clear that there is a real desire to address the differences between civil marriage and civil partnerships. I’m delighted to announce that we are going to be the first British government to formally look at what steps can be taken to address this.”
