The Civil Partnership Act 2004 grants legal status to gay and lesbian couples in the United Kingdom. The Act came into force on 5 December 2005, allowing same-sex couples to form civil partnerships 15 days later. The Act also places cohabiting gay and lesbian couples on the same legal basis as cohabiting heterosexual couples, with implications for taxes and benefits. Castro Street in San Francisco Look up gay in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Lesbian describes a homosexual woman. ... In Westminster System parliaments, an Act of Parliament is a part of the law passed by the Parliament. ... December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A civil union is one of several terms for a civil status similar to marriage, typically created for the purposes of allowing homosexual couples access to the benefits enjoyed by married heterosexuals (see also same-sex marriage); it can also be used by couples of differing sexes who do not... Cohabitation is an arrangement where two unrelated people live together, often as part of a sexual relationship. ...

The Act introduces the concept of civil partnerships into the law of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. After registering a civil partnership, partners will gain certain rights and obligations with respect to each other. For example, inheritance tax will be waived as it is with married couples, and there will be a right of succession for tenancy. These civil partnerships are aimed at same-sex couples and are not available to couples of opposite sex. However, the rights and responsibilities of a civil partnership are not limited to gay and lesbian couples; they are legally available to "almost any unrelated couple of the same sex".[1] ... Travel guide to Scotland from Wikitravel Transport in Scotland Timeline of Scottish history Caledonia List of not fully sovereign nations Subdivisions of Scotland National parks (Scotland) Traditional music of Scotland Flower of Scotland Wars of Scottish Independence National Trust for Scotland Historic houses in Scotland Castles in Scotland Museums in... Royal motto: Quis separabit (Latin: Who will separate?) Northern Irelands location within the UK Official languages English, Irish, Ulster Scots Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Area  - Total Ranked 4th 13,843 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 4th 1,685,267 122/km² NUTS 1... Inheritance tax, also known in some countries outside the United States as a death duty and referred to as an estate tax within the U.S, is a form of tax that may be levied upon the estate of a deceased person that is left to a living person or... A tenant farmer is one who resides on and farms land owned by a landlord. ... A same-sex couple is a pair of people of the same sex, who pursue a relationship similar to that of a heterosexual married couple. ... Heterosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by esthetic attraction, romantic love or sexual desire exclusively for members of the opposite sex or gender, contrasted with homosexuality and distinguished from bisexuality and asexuality. ...

The first civil partnership was created on 5 December 2005 under a special procedure of the Act, allowing a man terminally ill with cancer to marry his partner one day before he died.^[1] Between 11,000 and 22,000 people are expected to enter into civil partnerships by 2010.[2] December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Legislative passage

The Act was announced in the Queen's Speech at the start of the 2003/2004 legislative session, and its full text was revealed on March 31, 2004. It received Royal Assent on November 18, 2004, and came into force on 5 December 2005, allowing the first couples to form civil partnerships 15 days later. Confusion regarding the interpretation of the Act led to registrations being accepted from December 19 in Northern Ireland, December 20 in Scotland and December 21 in England and Wales. Scotland's Parliament voted in favour of a Sewel motion allowing Westminster to legislate for Scotland in this Act. Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands reads her countrys Speech from the Throne Queen Elizabeth II reads Canadas Speech from the Throne in 1977 The Speech from the Throne, sometimes referred to by the shorter term Throne Speech, is an event in certain monarchies in which the monarch (or... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining, as the final day of March. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The granting of Royal Assent is the formal method by which the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, or the Sovereigns representative in Commonwealth Realms, completes the process of the enactment of legislation by formally assenting to an Act of Parliament. ... November 18 is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years), with 43 remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Scottish Parliament (Pàrlamaid na h-Alba in Gaelic, Scots Pairlament in Scots) is the national unicameral legislature of Scotland. ... A Sewel motion is a motion passed by the Scottish Parliament, in which it requests the Parliament of the United Kingdom, or Westminster to pass legislation on a topic extending to Scotland. ... Westminster is a district within the City of Westminster in London. ...

As a Bill it met with broad support from all of the UK's major political parties. However, it also faced criticism on several fronts—from people worried that marriage would be diluted by extending the rights of it to others, from people who feel the government should simply extend marriage itself, and from different-sex couples who wished themselves to have the right to enter into a non-marriage civil partnership. A bill is a proposed new law introduced within a legislature that has not been ratified or adopted. ... Marriage is a relationship between individuals which has formed the foundation of the family for most societies. ...

In the debate on the Bill in the House of Lords on June 24, 2004, an amendment, seen by some as a wrecking amendment, to extend eligibility for civil partnership to blood relatives who had lived together for a minimum period of time, such as children caring for elderly parents, was moved by Conservative peer Baroness O'Cathain and approved. The House of Commons later removed this amendment and sent the revised Bill back to the Lords for reconsideration. The Lords decided to accept the Commons version on November 17, and the Bill received Royal Assent the next day. This article is about the British House of Lords. ... June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 190 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In legislative debate, a wrecking amendment is an amendment made by a legislator who disagrees with the principles of a Bill and who seek to make it useless (by moving amendments to either make the Bill malformed and nonsensical, or to severely change its intent) rather than directly opposing the... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the right-of-centre in the United Kingdom. ... Detta OCathain, Baroness OCathain OBE (born February 2, 1938, Laurel Hill, Limerick) is an Irish-born British businesswoman and politician. ... British House of Commons Canadian House of Commons In some bicameral parliaments of a Westminster System, the House of Commons has historically been the name of the elected lower house. ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece. ...

Notes

• 1⇧ The Independent, December 7, 2005, "First gay wedding man dies of cancer"

The Independent is a British compact newspaper published by Tony OReillys Independent News & Media. ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Civil Partnership Act 2004 official text published 25 November 2004
• Explanatory Notes to Civil Partnership Act 2004
• Open Directory Project - Civil Partnership Act 2004 directory category
• Daily Telegraph, 6 October 2005, "All-embracing partnership Act"

November 25 is the 329th (in leap years the 330th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article deals with The Daily Telegraph in Britain, see The Daily Telegraph (Australia) for the Australian publication The Daily Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper founded in 1855. ... October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in Leap years). ...

Drafts of the Act

• Civil Partnership Bill official text from 26 October 2004
• Civil Partnership Bill official text from 5 July 2004
• Civil Partnership Bill official text from 30 March 2004