I find myself in the odd position of responding to government consultations and writing to my MP on an issue that I feel – at best – lukewarm about.
Marriage is not a social institution I feel has any relevance to me (not until I hit the inheritance tax threshold anyway, which is a long way off), and I have for a long time now felt that we’re doing the whole thing wrong. I also strongly object to David Cameron and Theresa May taking this opportunity to lecture me about the best possible set-up of my private life and family relationships. Even within the limited context of LGBT rights I believe there are bigger and more important issues than marriage equality.
On the other hand, I understand that marriage is hugely important to a lot of people – both heterosexual and not. It strikes me as a no-brainer that if we have an institution available to one part of the population and not another, this is discriminatory and unjust. So if we have to have marriage in its current form, I do believe that it should be available on an equal basis to all. With that in mind, I have today sent the below letter to Nick Brown, MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East. Mr Brown and I don’t often see eye to eye, and he has a record of only replying on issues he agrees with me on. Let’s hope this is one of those where I get a response.
Dear Nick Brown,
I am writing to you with regards to the government’s ongoing consultation to extend civil marriage rights to same-sex couples.
The current set-up which makes civil partnerships available to same-sex couples while reserving marriage only for heterosexual couples is problematic on several levels:
1. It clearly creates a distinction and inequality between heterosexual and LGBT people and the legal recognition of their relationships. This inequality is arbitrary and discriminatory.
2. It is also particularly harsh on transgender people seeking legal recognition of their gender, as under current rules they have to dissolve an existing marriage or civil partnership to obtain such recognition. This is an expensive, bureaucratic process that is extremely emotionally traumatic at an already difficult time in a person’s life.
3. Finally, it was only two years ago that there were more countries in the world where homosexuality was punishable with death than countries where same-sex couples could get legal recognition of their relationships in the form of marriage. Yet over the last few years we have seen more and more countries embrace marriage equality, and now there are countries on four continents which do so. It is disappointing that the UK is lagging behind countries perceived as conservative and staunchly Catholic, such as Spain, Portugal and Argentina, on this issue.
While an actual marriage equality bill is some way off, it would be helpful to understand your position on the issue. The Coalition for Equal Marriage is tracking MPs’ stance on this at their website and it would be great to see your support reflected there.
Yours sincerely,
Milena Popova