Traditionally, marriage has been seen as the “voluntary union…of one man and one women, to the exclusion of others.” This definition of marriage continues to be significant today, as same-sex couples are still excluded from the statutory right to marry. According to s.11 (C) Matrimonial Causes Act, parties to marriage must be male and female, otherwise the marriage will be rendered void. The Government recognized the need for change, but instead of extending marriage to include same-sex marriage, they introduced a separate category of civil partnership that can only be entered by same-sex couples (s.3 (1)).
The 264 sections and 30 schedules of the civil partnership act provide same-sex couples with
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