Civil partnerships can be converted to marriages from December

Married transgender people will also be able to change legal gender without ending marriage, provided partner agrees

theguardian.com, Rowena Mason, political correspondent,  Thursday 26 June 2014

Same-sex couples can convert their civil partnerships into marriages by attending
 a registry office and signing a declaration that they wish to be married in front of
a registrar. Photograph: Jupiterimages/Getty Images/Comstock Images

Same-sex couples will be able to convert their civil partnerships to marriages from December this year, the culture secretary has said.

Sajid Javid added that married transgender people will be able to change their legal gender without ending their marriage, provided their partner agrees.

He made the announcements after a consultation on what should happen to civil partnerships now same-sex couples have been allowed to marry since March.

It concluded that civil partnerships will continue to be available to gay couples but will remain barred for opposite-sex couples.

To convert a civil partnership into marriage, a couple will have to attend a registry office and sign a declaration that they wish to be married in front of a registrar.

Writing for PinkNews, Javid, who is also an equalities minister, said the change would take place from 10 December.

"This is something that many, many people have been clamouring for since the first equal marriages took place in March, and the final preparations are well underway.

"You don't have to have a big party to celebrate with all your friends and family, but I certainly won't try and stop you if you do."

Peter Tatchell, the equal rights campaigner, said it was great that same-sex couples in civil partnerships will be able to convert. But he accused David Cameron of "betraying the principle of equality" by refusing to allow opposite-sex couples to have a civil partnership.

"Same-sex couples now have a legal advantage over straight couples. They have two options: civil marriage and civil partnership. In contrast, opposite-sex couples have only one option: marriage. This is unjust and unfair," he said.

"The government's decision to retain civil partnerships is welcome. Not everyone wants to get married, given that marriage has a long sexist and homophobic history. It is right that all couples should have a choice."

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"The Akashic Circle" – Jul 17, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Religion, The Humanization of God, Benevolent Design, DNA, Akashic Circle, (Old) Souls, Gaia, Indigenous People, Talents, Reincarnation, Genders, Gender Switches, In “between” Gender Change, Gender Confusion, Shift of Human Consciousness, Global Unity,..... etc.)  - (Text version)

“… Gender Switching

Old souls, let me tell you something. If you are old enough, and many of you are, you have been everything. Do you hear me? All of you. You have been both genders. All of you have been what I will call between genders, and that means that all of you have had gender switches. Do you know what happens when it's time for you to switch a gender? We have discussed it before. You'll have dozens of lifetimes as the same gender. You're used to it. It's comfortable. You cannot conceive of being anything else, yet now it's time to change. It takes approximately three lifetimes for you to get used to it, and in those three lifetimes, you will have what I call "gender confusion."

It isn't confusion at all. It's absolutely normal, yet society often will see it as abnormal. I'm sitting here telling you you've all been through it. All of you. That's what old souls do. It's part of the system. …”