Civil partnership: ties that (also) bind

Abstract

While there are clearly a significant number of couples who will welcome the advent of different-sex civil partnerships and who will wish to take advantage of this new option, this article explores several reasons why civil partnerships are the solution for three overlapping but distinct groups. First, and most obviously, civil partnerships are a far from adequate solution for those 3.3 million cohabiting couples who featured so prominently in the debates, but who have many different reasons for not entering into a legally binding union, some of which will apply with just as much force to civil partnerships as to marriage. Second, civil partnerships will not necessarily address the objections of those who are ideologically opposed to marriage. While these might be thought to be the group for whom a civil partnership holds the most attraction, unpacking the reasons why individuals might be ideologically opposed to marriage suggests that many can apply equally to civil partnerships. Thirdly, civil partnerships are not necessarily the answer for those who wish to conduct their relationship on a basis of equality and see a civil partnership as more conducive to so doing. Were such couples to choose civil partnership over marriage, this might indeed mean that the relationships of civil partners would be more equal than those of married couples, but this would be a reflection of correlation rather than cause. More significantly, there are reasons to doubt whether the mere fact of entering into a civil partnership rather than a marriage will overcome the structural barriers to achieving equality.