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(Belfast, Northern Ireland) Northern Ireland
became the first part of the United Kingdom on Monday where same-sex couples
could formalize their relationships.
Shannon Sickles
and Grainne Close entered into a civil partnership Monday at
Belfast City Hall. They were followed by two other
same-sex couples in tying the knot.
"We just
want to say that this is a very privileged position we are in
this morning and for us this is about making a choice,"
said Close as she held Sickles hand in front of City Hall.
"We could
not be here without the hard work of many queer activists and
many individuals from the queer community," Sickles said.
Close in her
black pant suit and Sickles in a white suit then went inside
to sign the register as about 30 anti-gay protesters staged a
noisy rally on the street.
Tuesday, civil partnerships
begin in Scotland, and on Wednesday in England and Wales.
Monday morning
police in England acknowledged reports that they are
investigating death threats against the owners of Pink
Weddings, a Surrey company that helps plan gay commitment
ceremonies.
The threats
appear to have been made by British soldiers serving in Iraq.
Police said that the threats came in a letter to Gino Meriano
and his partner his partner of seven
years Mike Ullett and said that they would be killed if they went ahead with
their own civil partnership this week.
The letter was written on official British Army notepaper
and had a return address of in Basra, Iraq, but was postmarked
in the UK.
In Scotland, the local
government in the Western Isles is refusing to register civil
partnerships when they begin Tuesday. The tiny community is
the only area of the UK that will not allow gay and lesbian
couples to enter into unions. The Scottish government in
Edinburgh says it is prepared fly in registrars to conduct any
ceremonies.
Across England and Wales,
England and Wales 687 same-sex couples plan to form Civil
Partnerships on Wednesday, the first day the unions become
effective.
The most famous coupling will
be that of singer Elton John and producer David Furnish in
Windsor. John and Furnish have become the poster boys of
same-sex unions in the UK with hundreds of people expected to
turn out to see the pair. (story)
On the weekend John used the
impeding event to draw attention of the plight of gays in a
number of countries around the world, speaking out against
homophobia and calling for a worldwide effort to abolish
anti-gay laws. (story)
Civil partnerships give
same-sex couples an opportunity to register their
relationships and receive most of the same benefits accorded
married couples including pension, immigration, and property
rights.
Most of the European Union
states already have varying forms 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. (story)
©365Gay.com 2005
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