Has the time e for gay marriage the UK? | LGBTQ+ rights | The Guardian

Contents:

• A TIMELE OF GAY RIGHTS THE UK
• HAS THE TIME E FOR GAY MARRIAGE THE UK?
• MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE
• WHERE EUROPE STANDS ON GAY MARRIAGE AND CIVIL UNNS
• LDSEY GRAHAM ARGU GAY MARRIAGE RIGHTS SHOULD BE LEFT UP TO STAT
• GAY MARRIAGE AROUND THE WORLD

A TIMELE OF GAY RIGHTS THE UK

Approval fell the 1980s when the Aids crisis and the troductn of sectn 28 - a law prohibg the promotn or teachg of homosexualy schools - uld have swayed public opn acrdg to NatCen, the thk tank which ns the a steady and rapid rise om the early 1990s reflects a wir trend of social liberalisatn, somethg also seen changg attus to pre-maral sex. Approval of pre-maral sex grew ially among the young - as they got olr they retaed that belief, and soon both old and young were more liberal on the same-sex relatnships the shift attu has been quicker - not only did young people wh liberal views get olr, but olr people changed their mds, might part be bee chang the law, such as the legalisatn of civil partnerships and then gay marriage, have a powerful fluence on people's views, a NatCen spokman suggts.

HAS THE TIME E FOR GAY MARRIAGE THE UK?

1967 - Sex between two men over 21 and " private" is crimalised1980 - Decrimalisatn Stland1982 - Decrimalisatn Northern Ireland1994 - The age of nsent for two male partners is lowered to 182000 - The ban on gay and bisexual people servg the armed forc is lifted; the age of nsent is equalised for same- and oppose-sex partners at 162002 - Same-sex upl are given equal rights when to adoptn2003 - Gross cency is removed as an offence2004 - A law allowg civil partnerships is passed2007 - Discrimatn on the basis of sexual orientatn is banned2010 - Genr reassignment is add as a protected characteristic equaly legislatn2014 - Gay marriage be legal England, Wal and Stland3.

Government has attempted to redrs this legacyGiven this legacy of crimalisatn, the ernment troduced a scheme October 2012 allowg those prosecuted unr funct gay-sex-related laws, to have their nvictns removed om police and urt Home Office timat that there were about 50, 000 such offenc rerd on the system om the 1950s until of the 50, 000, only an timated 16, 000 are for people who are still livg and so able to all of the 16, 000 offenc are eligible to be "disregard". Rerdg of homophobic hate crim has risenA steep rise homophobic hate crim has been rerd over the past five years, but this is thought to be large part down to an crease people reportg cints rather than a genue rise crime.

The Natnal Police Chiefs Council's lead on homophobic crim, Assistant Chief Constable Mark Haton, says: "Tradnally, homophobic hate crime has been signifintly unr-reported and we do not believe that current statistics accurately reflect actual levels of abe. It's strikg that people aged 16-24 are more than five tim more likely than those aged over 65 to intify as gay, lbian or Office for Natnal Statistics keeps rerds of people who intify themselv as gay, lbian or bisexual - 1.

MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE

This is likely to unrtimate the real numbers as the survey don't pture sexual attractn or 2005 the ernment tried to timate the size of the lbian, gay and bisexual populatn and me up wh a larger number - 5-7% of the populatn. Gay people say they feel ls happy than their straight peersPeople who intify as gay, lbian and bisexual report lower levels of well-beg than heterosexuals the ONS looks at happs, life satisfactn, and the extent to which people feel their life is worthwhile.

Gay and lbian people report higher levels of anxiety than straight people, but bisexual people are even more likely to suffer om the lbian, gay and bisexual people are also more likely to suffer om suicidal thoughts than their straight iends, acrdg to a 2014 survey by LGBT support chary Metro.

Same-sex upl have gaed equal marriage rightsCivil partnerships were legalised 2004 throughout the Uned Kgdom, wh the first ceremoni takg place at the end of the followg 140, 000 people entered to civil partnerships between 2005 and 2015, the last year for which figur are the UK, gay and lbian upl were granted many of the same rights as married heterosexuals, albe wh a few differenc around issu like private-sector meant that upl uld no longer be kept out of hospal rooms when their partner was sick, they would no longer lose their home or bs bee of tax laws, and they had parental rights over marriage was legalised a later, wh the first ceremoni takg place England, Wal and Stland 2014. Countri where gay marriage is legal2010 Iceland, Portugal, Argenta2013 Uguay, New Zealand, France, Brazil2014 UK (excludg Northern Ireland)2015 Luxembourg, Ireland, Mexi, USAA further 28 untri guarantee some civil-partnership regnn acrdg to ILGA. Beg gay is still crimalised many parts of the worldBra is markg 50 years sce the partial crimalisatn of homosexualy but same-sex relatns are still illegal across vast swath of the world.

WHERE EUROPE STANDS ON GAY MARRIAGE AND CIVIL UNNS

The act, which crimalised homosexual sex acts between nsentg men over the age of 21, opened the door to a slew of legal and social chang which would transform the way Brish society viewed same-sex relatnships over the next 50 are some of the key dat the history of gay rights the UK:1533: The Buggery Act, the first ever law to specifilly outlaw anal sex, was signed to English law. 1957: The Wolfenn mtee published s report, based on three years of ttimony om police, psychiatrists and gay men but one of the mtee's 15 members, drawn om the world of polics, law, medice and amia, agreed that homosexual acts between nsentg men over the age of legal majory - 21 at the time - should not be a matter for the law. 1988: Then-Prime Mister Margaret Thatcher troduced an amendment to the Lol Government Act 1988 banng state schools om teachg or promotg the "acceptabily of homosexualy as a pretend fay relatnship" notor "Sectn 28" ed wispread outrage and as the talyst for a massive surge gay activism, cludg the formatn of LGBT rights group Stonewall UK.

This would reprent a revolutn for gay rights, but there is still a long way to go before same-sex upl achieve full rights to marriage as they are arguably entled to unr human rights Hugh MP has told, a qutn and answer webse, that Liberal Democrat MPs would be nsulted on the rights of gay upl. He said "I don't know the answer bee we haven't had the discsn", but that "I see absolutely no reason why we shouldn't all be able to support what Nick Clegg said, which is that would be appropriate Bra 2010-11 for there to be the abily to have civil marriage for straight people and gay people equally. As Lord Rodger said a recent Supreme Court judgment, which cricised the Government's policy of sendg back gay asylum seekers to stat where they would be persecuted, "gay men are to be as ee as their straight equivalents the society ncerned to live their liv the way that is natural to them as gay men" (he also pated an tertg picture of gay life Bra volvg Kylie ncerts and exotic cktails) is unlikely, however, that judg n be relied upon to step up on this issue light of the recent judgment of the European Court of Human Rights Schalk and Kopf v.

Clearly, the European Court of Human Rights nsirs that gay marriage falls wh the 'marg of appreciatn' which stat sometim have to set their own policy agenda relatn to ntroversial social if a challenge to the existg law on human rights grounds did succeed the UK urts, the ernment would not be bound to change the law. On a ntroversial issue such as gay marriage, the backg of Parliament will be sential to change the stat quo; any se the Supreme Court particular is unlikely to be willg to place self the polil limelight as s US equivalent has done by makg ntroversial cisns on social will of ParliamentSo will Parliament, and specifilly the aln ernment, seek to alter the law? Lynne Featherstone, the Equali mister, has said an answer to a Parliamentary qutn that gay upl uld now e "relig readgs, mic and symbols" civil partnership ceremoni, further dissolvg the already tenuo distctn between civil marriage and civil aln ernment is clearly ncerned over the reactn to potential reforms om the relig muny, and is seekg to volve them any future cisns.

LDSEY GRAHAM ARGU GAY MARRIAGE RIGHTS SHOULD BE LEFT UP TO STAT

"To that end, Simon Hugh was keen to make clear that relig muni would not be forced to accept gay marriage, statg that the civil law "is different of urse om fah ceremoni which are matters for the fah muni – for the Christian Church or the Mlim muny – and they have to ci what regnn they want to give.

GAY MARRIAGE AROUND THE WORLD

Media ptn, Peter McGrah and David Cabreza, John Coffey and Bernardo Marti, and Andrew Wale and Neil Allard were among the first gay upl to marryThe first same-sex weddgs have taken place after gay marriage beme legal England and Wal at midnight.

"The law change would enurage young people unsure of their sexualy, he source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Tera Millward and Helen Brearley married HalifaxImage source, APImage ptn, Sean Adl-Tabatabai and Sclair Treadway married the uncil chamber at Camn Town Hall LondonImage source, PAImage ptn, Sandi Toksvig and her partner Debbie renewed their civil partnership vows at an event London celebratg the law changeLater on Saturday morng, Mr Cameron tweeted: "Congratulatns to the gay upl who have already been married - and my bt wish to those about to be on this historic day. "This is an credibly happy time for so many gay upl and lbian upl who will be gettg married, but 's an credibly proud time for our untry as well, regnisg equal marriage law, " he said.

Mr Tatchell said the uple and all the others gettg married had "ma history" and "ma Bra a more tolerant, equal place" a crowd of photographers, journalists and well-wishers wag, the uple took the opportuny to highlight the ternatnal stggle for gay McGrah said: "Very few untri afford their gay and lbian cizens equal marriage rights and we believe that this change law will brg hope and strength to gay men and lbians Nigeria, Uganda, Rsia, India and elsewhere, who lack basic equaly and are beg crimalised for their sexual orientatn. "Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Andrew Wale and Neil Allard were the first same-sex uple to marry BrightonImage source, AFPImage ptn, Phil Robathan and Jam Prton later married at Brighton Town HallLater on Saturday, a crowd of about 2, 000 people - which clud a number of celebri - gathered to watch edian Sandi Toksvig and her partner Debbie renew their civil partnership uple, who entered to a civil partnership seven years ago, exchanged vows on stage at the Royal Ftival Hall London at a special event to celebrate the troductn of gay marriage the UK. But some relig groups rema opposed to gay Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, said: "We n't jt refe an stutn - refe somethg that always has been - bee we say 's somethg that we want.