Partnered - Not Married
Bryan and I have lived together as a couple for over thirty years. We spent our twenties to forties as polically “out” gay men with the support of both of our families. These days we live in Florida and run our businesses from there.
When the UK changed the rules about civil partnerships we thought that we’d just let sleeping dogs lie, since it wouldn’t affect us in any way here…. but conscience overcame us and we decided to go back to the Uk and get hitched. If you fight for rights and then they give them to you it seems churlish not to take advantage of them.
That was three weeks ago.
Our London club, The Groucho, opened up their rooms for us, our chosen family turned up for the event. We though it was going to be a quick and relatively unemotional occasion but everyone cried - even the registrar.
Both of us are very happy to leave weddings and marriages to churches. After all it was Robert Luis Stephenson who said
Marriage is a sort of friendship recognized by the police
July 18th, 2008 at 4:55 am
Congratulations, long life & happiness!
I recently became ordained as a nondom minister because we have a friend who hosts weddings here in France, and she needs someone to be a “communicant”
She is Bah’ai. It seems very trendy and cool, but on research I found that it has its roots in Islam. I asked her how she’d feel about a gay couple wanting to use her facilities. She thought it over for a few days and then said she’d have to say no, as it conflicts with her spritual beliefs.
And now I find myself conflicted coz I thought she was OK.
July 21st, 2008 at 3:21 am
Hi Tony and congratulations on the civil partnership. My warmest love and congratulations to you both! We too expected our ceremony in 2006 to be relatively unemotional, but that wasn’t mean to be either (thank goodness).
It’s interesting that you make the argument for marriage as a religious institution, just as Gene Robinson’s over here trying to argue for it to become entirely civil. Some interesting twists with religion in the UK right now (as I’m sure you’ve noticed), which I’m trying to play with on my blog too!
August 7th, 2008 at 7:32 am
Hi Tony,
Belated congrats on the Partnership. I wish you and Bryan all the best in the world. Wish I could have been part of it but I was in the Middle East so it wasn’t to be.
Love you always
Stiubhart xx