A great day for a gay wedding!

The day has finally come. In less than 1 hours time, equal marriage is coming into force in England.

There are many stats being branded around about the number of civil partnerships; and the interest in marriage. Realistically however there is no way to know what the interest will be. Myself and my wife (ok, so technically she isn't my wife yet; but we use that word anyway until we can convert our civil partnership to a marriage) had our civil partnership in 2012. If we hadn't had it and we knew the new act was coming in; we probably would have waited. Many people have waited so the number of civil partnerships has dropped significantly in recent months.

A brief history of marriage equality
Civil partnerships were introduced in 2005. Equal marriage comes into effect on 29 March 2014; some 9 years later; but the date was only announced in December 2013. This short notice will probably mean that there will be a good 4-6 months before we see a noticeable uplift in marriages as many will want to plan and prepare for their special day. There are of course those who want to be among the first to seal this momentous occasion. They will I am sure have the press buzzing around them.

According to the most recent data available, the councils registering the most civil partnerships to date have been Westminster in London (224 in 2012) and Brighton and Hove (220) in West Sussex.

Westminster Council has at least 52 same sex marriages lined up; at least four of which are on Saturday. Brighton and Hove Council has at least five same sex couples due to marry on Saturday alone.

A few little known factsAside from the mainstream media circus; what else can we expect from this momentous day and the days that follow - will hell freeze over; will the UK sink from floods (perhaps Northern Ireland will survive as same gender marriage will remain unlawful?!); or will we all just be a little bit happier and more stable and secure in our rights?

1. Saturday is just the beginning
Anyone not currently in a civil partnership can register for a marriage immediately and can marry from Saturday onwards.

2. International recognition in the UK
Anyone who has undertaken a marriage abroad either in the past; or in the future will be recognised as married in the UK.

3. A waiting game for civil partnership couples
Anyone currently in a civil partnership is going to have to wait until the consultation on the future of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 is complete, which is scheduled for 17 April 2014. This consultation is reviewing a number of questions. One of those is whether civil partnerships should be abolished. One option is that those currently in civil partnerships would be valid but no future civil partnerships would take place. Another is the possibility of opening up civil partnerships to opposite gender couples. It is expected that conversions from civil partnerships to marriages will be able to take place by the end of 2014. Conversions will not be compulsory. If you choose to convert your civil partnership to a marriage; the civil partnership will end and the marriage will be treated as though it has been in place from the date of the original civil partnership.

4. Transforming the lifes of transgendered people too
The new act is also helpful for transgendered people. Up until now; people transitioning into a new gender that made them the same gender as their married partner would have to have chosen the new gender and received a Gender Recognition Certificate; meaning that they could not be married. The new act means that no longer does the transitioning person have to choose their gender over their relationship - they can have both.

5. Loop the loop around pensions (for now?)
There is also still a loophole in the Equality Act 2010 to be resolved around pensions. Private occupational pensions can choose to use this loophole to treat those in a same gender marriage as civil partners and limit survivor benefits. This is being reviewed by the Department for Work and Pensions so is still open to change.

6. Terminology is law - adultery is for heterosexuals as unreasonable behaviour is for gays
Whilst equal marriage is now available for LGBT people; equal divorce is not (kind of!). The legal definition of adultery through case law is sexual intercourse between persons of the opposite sex. So technically even a heterosexual couple could struggle to claim adultery if said wife slept with her female best friend - an interesting loophole! Instead you could petition for divorce on the basis of unreasonable behaviour through an inappropriate relationship with another person.

It is clear that equal marriage in England (and Scotland from October) is a great step forward; and it follows many other countries who led the way. There are campaigns underway in countries such as the US (She4Me equal marriage #LoveIsLove) and Australia (Australian Marriage Equality) to name a couple.

To everyone who is getting married this weekend; the forecast across England on Saturday is dry with little to no chance of rain; proving that those crazy people who think us gays caused the floods are just that; crazy. Just a shame that limits the chance of a rainbow for the photos - but there is always Photoshop for that!

Post by Naomi