The straight couple who are calling for "heterosexual equality" will challenge the ban on opposite-sex civil partnerships by filing an
application at London's Islington Registry Office tomorrow, 24
November, at 10.30am.
As reported on PinkPaper.com earlier this month, Tom Freeman and Katherine Doyle say the denial of civil partnerships to
heterosexual couples is "discriminatory and perpetuates legal
inequality."
Doyle and Freeman expect to be turned down by the registrar but they plan to get the refusal in writing, with view to taking legal advice and appealing the refusal.
"If necessary, we are ready to take our appeal all the way to the European Court of Human Rights," said Freeman and Doyle.
The couple's equality bid is backed by the gay rights group OutRage! and by human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. He will join them on 24 November when they give notice of their civil partnership at Islington Town Hall's Registry Office.
Tatchell commented: "We are against both homophobic and heterophobic laws. In a democratic society, everyone should be treated equally. There should be no legal discrimination. The ban on same-sex civil marriage and on opposite-sex civil partnerships is a form of sexual apartheid. It is one law for straight couples and another law for gay partners. Two wrongs don't make a right," he said.
Outlining the reasons why they decided to opt for a civil partnership instead of marriage, Katherine Doyle said: "We have been together for three and a half years and would like to formalise our relationship. Because we feel alienated from the patriarchal traditions of marriage, we would prefer to have a civil partnership. As a mixed-sex couple, we are banned by law from doing so. By filing an application for civil partnership, we are seeking to challenge this discriminatory law.
"Our decision is also motivated by the fact that we object to the way same-sex couples are prohibited from getting married. If we got married we would be colluding with the segregation that exists in matrimonial law between gay civil partnerships and straight civil marriage. We don't want to take advantage of civil marriage when it is an option that is denied to our lesbian and gay friends," she said.
Freeman added: "We want to secure official status for our relationship in a way that supports the call for complete equality and is free of the negative connotations of marriage.
"If we cannot have a civil partnership, we will not get married. On a point of principle, we will remain unmarried until opposite sex couples can have a civil partnership and same-sex couples can have a civil marriage.
"We are taking this stand against discrimination and in support of legal equality for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation.
"The 'separate but equal' system which segregates couples according to their sexuality is not equal at all. All loving couples should have access to the same institutions, regardless of sexuality. There should be parity of respect and rights," he said.