Gay Humanists Support UK Recognition of Lesbian Marriage

KENILWORTH, 11 AUGUST 2005 — The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) has added its voice to those of Liberty and OutRage! in support of the British lesbian couple Sue Wilkinson and Celia Kitzinger, who want their Canadian same-sex marriage recognised in the UK, as it would be if they were heterosexuals.

GALHA secretary George Broadhead said: “GALHA helped set up the Coalition for Marriage Equality, the group which campaigned for the UK government to emulate Belgium and the Netherlands and grant same-sex couples full marital equality on a par with their heterosexual counterparts rather than the civil partnership legislation which it dubbed sexual apartheid. In addition to many other gay groups, including OutRage!, the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement and Schools Out!, the Coalition is supported by the British Humanist Association and the UK Green Party.

“We believe that the UK government shied away from giving same-sex couples full marital equality because of religious opposition to it. We stand by the stance we took before the civil partnership legislation was approved by Parliament, so we entirely agree with Sue and Celia who say ‘to operate a different set of rules for same-sex couples is profoundly discriminatory – an affront to social justice’."