Gay couples begin registering in the UK

The Civil Partnership Act, which was passed in November last year, gives gay couples the same property and inheritance rights as married heterosexual couples and entitles them to the same pension, immigration and tax benefits.
From December 5, same-sex couples were able to tell register offices of their aim to form a civil partnership but must wait 15 days to be able to do so.
However, unlike those in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Canada, Britain’s civil partnership is not a marriage. Britain’s procedure is an exclusively civil one in which the partnership becomes binding with the partners signing certain documents; whereas a marriage becomes binding when partners exchange spoken words in a civil or religious ceremony.
According to local reports, some 1,200 couples scheduled ceremonies set to take place between Dec 19 in Northern Ireland and Dec 21 in England and Wales.
Popular singer Elton John has announced plans to enter into a civil partnership Dec 21 with his longtime partner, David Furnish, a filmmaker.
“It is a major, major change,” Furnish said in a recently published interview. “It is one of the defining issues of our times. And I applaud Britain for embracing the diversity of our society.”
Ex-Wham star George Michael has meanwhile hit out at reports which claimed that he is planning to marry his partner Kenny Goss, Michael insisted the pair would only consider a same-sex union for legal purposes.
(News source: Fridae)