‘Marriage-lite’ case fails at Court of Appeal
Feb 22, 2017
A heterosexual couple who want a civil partnership have lost their case in the Court of Appeal.
Charles Keidan and Rebecca Steinfeld claim the current law is discriminatory because same-sex couples can either marry or enter into a civil partnership, while heterosexual couples only have the option of marriage.
C4M has long criticised the idea of heterosexual civil partnerships as they would undermine marriage because they do not require lifelong commitment. It is estimated that, if the idea ever went ahead, it would cost taxpayers between £3 billion and £5 billion.
Keiden and Steinfeld want to take their case to the Supreme Court.
Speaking for C4M, Dr Sharon James said: “The gold standard of commitment is marriage; with the declarations made in the presence of witnesses and the expectation of lifelong faithfulness” and “civil partnerships just don’t offer that”.
Dr James said heterosexual civil partnerships would only “weaken marriage by creating a two-tier system, offering a sort of marriage-lite option”.
Please join with us as we continue to protect marriage in the UK.
Donate
Thank you for supporting C4M. All donations are treated in the strictest confidence.
Please note, we always acknowledge gifts received. If you haven’t received a reply, please check your spam folder.
To make a donation over the phone, call 0207 403 7879 during office hours.
To support us regularly, or donate by cheque, click here.
Select Amount
- £10
- £25
- £50
- £100
Join us
If you would like to receive regular email updates from the Coalition for Marriage then please fill the form below to subscribe to our newsletter.
“I support defining marriage as the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.”