- Conference
- 2013 National LGBT Conference
- Date
- 31 July 2013
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference celebrates the historic moment when, on Wednesday, 17 July 2013, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill was given Royal Assent and became an Act, and is already choosing hats for the first same-sex weddings due during 2014.
Yet, despite the rhetoric from the Con-Dem government, all is not yet equal and the fight for full equality in marriage must continue. Promises that many aspects will still be looked at were made during the Bill’s progression through the legislative process in both houses, such as opening up civil partnership to opposite-sex couples and reviewing the laws covering occupational pension schemes and same-sex couples. These promises must be kept and Conference reiterates that we are watching closely and will continue to campaign in this area.
Furthermore, Conference also notes that the rights of transgender people have been ignored, with the introduction of the spousal veto which requires written consent of a transgender person’s spouse before a Gender Recognition Certificate can be obtained.
Conference therefore calls on the National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Committee to:
1. Continue to campaign for full equality in marriage;
2. Campaign for full equality in civil partnership, pensions and other areas promised during the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill’s legislative journey;
3. Support campaigns for removal of the spousal veto;
4. Lobby Members of Parliament (MPs) where appropriate;
5. Encourage regional and branch groups to support members in contacting their MPs to raise these issues;
6. Produce example letters that may be used by our members when contacting their MPs..