From the 5th of December (so yesterday) gay couples in the UK can finally get the same rights as straight couples who enter into marriage. (woW> (Although I called it gay marriage it’s purely a superficial title because it’s not the same thing it’s a civil partnership)

Most of the European Union states already have varying forms of civil unions. Only The Netherlands, Belgium and Spain in the EU permit same-sex marriage. Elsewhere, Canada and the US state of Massachusetts allow gay marriage. Last week the highest court in South Africa gave the government one year to pass a marriage equality law....

So things are slowly changing.


Love makes me happy, so to me this new law makes me happy too. More love to go around for people who want to show the world how they feel about each other. :LOVE:


My only question... why did it take so long to get here?

Congrats! I'm happy for all the gay couples and gay singles in Britain! And you know, this civil partnership is just the first step to a real marriage. In the Netherlands the scary christians had to take that step too before passing the law for gay marriage. But now there's nobody fussing about it anymore. It just is.
And I love it that some churches perform gay marriages too. That will teach the scary christians! In my parents church there has been a wedding of two women, although I think most of the older people didn't really approve of it.
Well, we must allow everyone their own opinion, it's just great that more and more countries at least allow gay marriages and therefore don't discriminate gay people. Because every cilivian has a right to get married. Period.

(yeah, I had to do a topical discussion in my junior highschool year, and it was on gay marriages)

My Brother is gay so this is really good news for him, not for my pocket :lol: my mum today was talking about why there arent any xmas cards for "Son and partner" bless her heart. She made one instead.

Scary Christians :ROFL: I just cant get my head around the fact that they slag people off who dont want to believe in the bible or their god. It makes no sense to me. :unsure:

YAY BRITS!!!!! (woW>
Another step of tolerance.
Fantastic....!!!

It's a step in the right direction, and about time, too. The sooner they allow actual same-sex marriages the better. What right does anyone have to tell everyone else who they can love? This civil-partnership, while it is step in the right direction, is still not enough. The sooner gays are given rights equal to straight folk, the better. I just wish that this would stop the intolerance, but I doubt anything will do that, I expect that there will always be prejudice to deal with.

I'm just going to echo what everyone else has already said if that's OK. :hugy:

Not all Christians are like that - I'm a Christian and I'm nothing like everyone's just said. I suppose I'm not a "proper" Christian because I don't believe in a lot of the things I'm 'supposed' to believe in. I just believe in what I choose to believe, not what I'm supposed to. And I don't force my opinions on anyone else.

Anyway I'm very happy this has passed, because the bottom line is marriage is about uniting two people in love, whoever they are.

It might have taken so long because there are a lot of people who still have old-fashioned views. My dad is a very prime example, he just doesn't agree with it at all. While I accept that that is his opinion, I wish he would open his mind a little bit more. Times have changed! It's about time people accepted one another for what they are, life would be a lot easier then.

Oh no I agree tottaly, my aunt is a Christian and she is very sweet :devilgriner: . I think the problem is that it's the Christians who have major beef with an issue and continue to make a stand over and over, in the end they become more noticeable and they use the name of god or the awful out of date book :rolleyes: . So you could always argue that it's the fundermental Christains themselves that bring this mess on the whole religion "promotes hate" issue.

Honestly cant see things going backwards, religion is strong to so many people but basic human rights is stronger. It's my belief and hope that its only a matter of time before equality becomes the norm. *crosses fingers* just hope I see that world in my lifetime. :)

Organised religion as a whole has caused so many problems over the centuries, but the individuals who believe on those religions are, mostly, decent people, who are willing to accept that not everyone believes the same as they do. There are some exceptions, those who try their hardest to convert everyone to their way of thinking, but they are in the minority (contrary to my hubby's belief). It is these exceptions, and the 'devout' Christians that are arguing against these 'Civil Partnerships' (as well as those poor, homophobic people who need to let go of their prejudices). I can't see us going backwards, as has been said above

but I wonder how long it will take to make this small step forward complete by allowing full same sex marriages.

This is something I feel VERY strongly about, despite the fact that I'm pretty much straight. I despise all forms of prejudice, and believe that the sooner there are equal rights for EVERYBODY, the better.

I absolutely didn't want to offend anyone when I used the term "scary Christians". I'm from a quite strong Christian heritage too, and I still feel somehow related to God. But "scary Christians" are just a religion apart. They have very "weird" beliefs, in my opinion, and are complete hypocrits.

I don't believe in the Bible, yes, it does contain nice stories, but that's all: they are stories. I hate it when people quote from the Bible, saying "yes, but the Bible says that man and woman are to marry, not two males or two females". I'm not quoting from Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, saying "But Harry calls Voldemort by his name. Stop using the term you know who when you're referring to your crush!"

Alright, that may be a little farfetched... I'm not the best in debating.

I think it is about time. yay u.k! :hugy: