Wednesday, December 07, 2005
One wedding and a funeral
BBC NEWS | 'Gay wedding' man dies of cancer
Ok, so my cynicism about being all those people trying to be the first to enter a civil partnership is fading with the news that it's already happened: two men in Worthing were given special permission to waive the 15 day waiting period because one of them was terminally ill. The pair, Matthew Roche and Christopher Cramp held the ceremony on Monday, and Mr Roche died yesterday.
This couple were doing it for good reasons, and making the headlines wasn't their aim.
Ok, so my cynicism about being all those people trying to be the first to enter a civil partnership is fading with the news that it's already happened: two men in Worthing were given special permission to waive the 15 day waiting period because one of them was terminally ill. The pair, Matthew Roche and Christopher Cramp held the ceremony on Monday, and Mr Roche died yesterday.
This couple were doing it for good reasons, and making the headlines wasn't their aim.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Civil partnerships: let's get one thing straight | spiked
spiked-liberties | Civil partnerships: let's get one thing straight | 5 Dec
Excellent article. Now will government ministers and Stonewall please read it, and stop telling me that I've got equality?
Excellent article. Now will government ministers and Stonewall please read it, and stop telling me that I've got equality?
Gay divorce is legal
Today the law allowing same-sex couples to divorce comes into force. Because of the various restrictions in the legal process however, it will be some time before the first queer couple can celebrate their divorce.
Couples wishing to divorce must first inform their local council of their intention to get married. After the 'banns' are published, the couple must then wait 2 weeks before tying the knot and give the relationship at least 1 year before deciding to file for divorce.
That means the first gay divorce papers could be filed from 21st December 2006.
One local couple, Sam and Nicky, are hoping to be the first. They told Shout!:
"Basically the competition to be the first to get married is too fierce, and we didn't manage to get our arse in gear early enough. Every gay paper in the land is full of stories about how some couple or other is aiming to be the very first to wed [including Shout! (Leeds gay couple 'first to wed' | November 2005)]. And come Dec 21st when the first ceremonies will take place, every local news station in the country will be staking out the local registry office in the hope of spotting the first poufs and dykes to say 'I do'. Anyone would think these couple are hoping to get their 15 minutes of fame - or maybe they're just too mean to get their own wedding video made and are hoping that a 30 second appearance on Calendar will do.
"However, the competition to be the first to get divorced is much more open. For a start, to be in with a chance you have to file for divorce just before Christmas, and even the most hardened drama queens might baulk at doing a Den Watts. Then there's the difficulties about courts being open etc - given that it's just before Christmas lots of them will be closed until after New Year. And once you've filed for divorce, waiting for the whole thing to go through the courts is a bit of a lottery, so basically everyone who is mean enough to file for divorce just before Christmas is in with a fighting chance."
Shout!'s legal expert warns couples aiming to be the first that it pays to have done your homework. "The courts have the power to divide your assests, but they will look kindly on couples who have reached an amicable agreement. So basically, it's a good idea to work out in advance who gets the family home and who gets custody of the cat. Obviously the best bet is a completely non-binding pre-nuptual agreement, which any solicitor such as myself could draw up, not that I'm touting for business and desparately trying to cash in on the latest thing, you understand"
Shout! would like to wish Sam and Nicky the best of luck, and we promise to be there to photograph your special day (but only if you're the first, obviously.)
Same-sex couples urged to plan now | Shout! | December 2005
Couples wishing to divorce must first inform their local council of their intention to get married. After the 'banns' are published, the couple must then wait 2 weeks before tying the knot and give the relationship at least 1 year before deciding to file for divorce.
That means the first gay divorce papers could be filed from 21st December 2006.
One local couple, Sam and Nicky, are hoping to be the first. They told Shout!:
"Basically the competition to be the first to get married is too fierce, and we didn't manage to get our arse in gear early enough. Every gay paper in the land is full of stories about how some couple or other is aiming to be the very first to wed [including Shout! (Leeds gay couple 'first to wed' | November 2005)]. And come Dec 21st when the first ceremonies will take place, every local news station in the country will be staking out the local registry office in the hope of spotting the first poufs and dykes to say 'I do'. Anyone would think these couple are hoping to get their 15 minutes of fame - or maybe they're just too mean to get their own wedding video made and are hoping that a 30 second appearance on Calendar will do.
"However, the competition to be the first to get divorced is much more open. For a start, to be in with a chance you have to file for divorce just before Christmas, and even the most hardened drama queens might baulk at doing a Den Watts. Then there's the difficulties about courts being open etc - given that it's just before Christmas lots of them will be closed until after New Year. And once you've filed for divorce, waiting for the whole thing to go through the courts is a bit of a lottery, so basically everyone who is mean enough to file for divorce just before Christmas is in with a fighting chance."
Shout!'s legal expert warns couples aiming to be the first that it pays to have done your homework. "The courts have the power to divide your assests, but they will look kindly on couples who have reached an amicable agreement. So basically, it's a good idea to work out in advance who gets the family home and who gets custody of the cat. Obviously the best bet is a completely non-binding pre-nuptual agreement, which any solicitor such as myself could draw up, not that I'm touting for business and desparately trying to cash in on the latest thing, you understand"
Shout! would like to wish Sam and Nicky the best of luck, and we promise to be there to photograph your special day (but only if you're the first, obviously.)
Same-sex couples urged to plan now | Shout! | December 2005
