On the first day that gay partnership ceremonies may be carried out under the new Civil Partnerships Act, 687 couples have made arrangements to do the deed in England and Wales, with 20 in Westminster (covers the Soho area) and 12 in Brighton and Hove. Apparently 400 couples have notified Brighton and Hove Council they plan to 'partner' (*) and 198 have booked for this to happen between 21st December and the New Year.
So far I have not seen a report about what the figures are for Scotland. The General Register Office for Scotland has an excellent website (link here) giving full details of the procedures required of those wishing to register a civil partnership, as well as a helpful list of do's and don't's.
I hope that in a few years time that when a same-sex couple announce their decision to 'partner' (*), this will arouse no more comment than when an opposite-sex couple decide to marry.
(*) - From now on this blog will use the word 'partner' as a verb when it is being used to signify that two gays or lesbians are registering under the Civil Partnerships Act; this will avoid blurring the issue by using the verb 'marry'. If some object to this adaptation of the English language, the solution is quite simple - amend the law to allow same-sex couples to have a legal 'marriage' so that I can simply use the word 'marry'.
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