A British straight couple who wanted to get a civil partnership rather than marry has lost their High Court case.
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The judge told Ms Steinfeld and Mr Keidan, who have an eight-month-old daughter, that “it is unfair that a route to state recognition of their relationship which is open to a same-sex couple… remains unavailable to them because they are heterosexual”.
Civil Partnership Act 2004 was designed for same-sex couples to be able to commit to each other and gain similar rights to those between married couples prior to the widening of the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples in the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013.
“We are seeking permission to appeal her decision on behalf of ourselves and the more than 36,000 people who signed our petition on Change.org calling for civil partnership equality”.
They argue that the Government’s position on civil partnerships is “incompatible with equality law”, but on Friday a judge in London dismissed their judicial review action.
At present there was no clear indication how civil partnerships were likely to be affected by extending marriage to same-sex couples and “no consensus as to what their future should be”, he said.
“Unfortunately, the judge has concluded otherwise”, she said.
Magazine editor Mr Keidan, 39, called on Parliament to “demonstrate its commitment to creating a level playing field for all its citizens by extending civil partnerships to same-sex and opposite-sex couples alike”.
In a ruling in the High Court today, Mrs Justice Andrews told the couple she was sympathetic to their case, but could not find in their favour.
The government argued that civil marriage was an institution that protected the core values of family life and there was no infringement of rights.
Justice Andrews said opposite-sex couples are not disadvantaged by the hiatus, because they ‘can achieve exactly the same recognition of their relationship and the same rights, benefits and protections by getting married, as they always could’.
A Government spokeswoman said: “We welcome the court’s ruling that the current regime of marriage and civil partnership does not disadvantage opposite-sex couples”.
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‘It will be a huge disappointment to the thousands of heterosexual couples who would like to have a civil partnership, ‘ he said.
