Humanist Society Scotland has welcomed the Scottish Government announcement that Civil Partnerships will be made available to all couples in response to a legal ruling by the Supreme Court earlier this year.
Humanist Society Scotland has been calling for such a change for the past five years after the Government initially consulted on the move in 2015 but failed to make adjustments. At the time, Humanist Society Scotland said that allowing mixed-sex couples the option of a civil partnership:
would be an opportunity missed to strengthen the Scottish Government’s commitment to equality by giving greater freedom to couples, regardless of sex or gender, to celebrate their relationship in a personalised way of their choice.
Commenting on the Government’s decision, Humanist Society Scotland Chief Executive, Fraser Sutherland, said:
We are delighted after campaigning for such a change for the past five years that the Scottish Government has agreed to extend Civil Partnerships to mixed-sex couples. It is disappointing that it took a couple to lodge a legal challenge at the Supreme Court to force the issue. Now we will be able to offer all couples the choice of a legal marriage or civil partnership, and we look forward to carrying out the first of these mixed-sex civil partnerships in the months to come.
Fraser Sutherland, Humanist Society Scotland
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