Civil Partnerships Banned for Straight Couples: Court Rules Against Equality

This week we had another fight for equality on our hands. A couple wanting to enter into a civil partnership were denied the right to do so. It’s sadly not an unfamiliar story – but there was one major plot twist. The couple are heterosexual.

It’s an unprecedented circumstance. A heteronormative society has barred a straight couple from doing something gay couples can, and I’m honestly not sure what to make of it.

Let’s start at the very beginning. Londoners Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan wanted to make a commitment to each other and be recognised as a couple in the eyes of the law. All tickety-boo and standard. There was a small catch however, in that neither wanted to get married.

The couple, like many others, see marriage as a patriarchal and outdated ritual, and want no part in it. Again, this is becoming a much more common view on the ceremony and state and it’s easy to see why. Women’s parents pay as they transfer control of their daughter. The father quite literally holds her hand until he can pass ownership over to another man. Then she gets to give up her name and previous family to devote herself to his. It’s not exactly romance 101.

Keidan and Steinfeld’s only option, therefore, was a simple civil partnership. They’d have their relationship registered and realised by law, without the whole misogynistic marriage part involved. Unfortunately it wasn’t so simple.

Being (ironically) straight up here, I had no clue there was a ban on civil partnerships for hetero couples. Perhaps it’s a result of straight privilege. I just assume the law allows me to have every relationship-based experience. I suppose it’s a refreshing change. Straight people can experience, for just a moment, what its like to have doors closed in their face because of their sexual orientation. Perhaps something good will come of this, as it highlights what happens for those outside the heteronormative.

The bigger picture of course is that equality only works if it’s for all. Marriage is allowed regardless of gender identity or sexual persuasion, and the same should apply for civil partnerships. It makes total sense. Yet Steinfeld and Keidan have fought a legal battle since 2014 for the right. This week finally had their plea refused.

It’s not all dire though. The ruling passed by a narrow margin. Additionally, all judges involved said that the government needed to review the law. Only one of the three said that it should happen immediately though. For those couples that don’t agree with marriage but face illness or have children, later isn’t much of an option. They want and need protection as a couple as soon as possible.

Much like gay marriage equality, this is an absolute no brainer. Politicians should embrace such an easy decision and sort it out. With modernity putting marriage under the microscope, more and more people aren’t liking what they see. Some throw custom out the window and make the day their own. But others just want to have the same rights and recognition as their married counterparts. It’s not difficult to remember, guys: equality is for everyone.

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