Tag Archives: spousal veto

Gender Recognition Reform – A Real Possibility?

July 22, 2017 · by · in Politics, Trans Issues · Leave a comment

One of the things anticipated for this Parliament is that Brexit, and its associated legislation, will dominate everything. That’s not to say that legislation for other things cannot happen – there is still space allocated for Private Members Bills, for example. But the scope for other Government-sponsored legislation is small. The other complication for Government […]

Discrimination, Faith and Human Rights

May 21, 2015 · by · in Politics, Religion, Trans Issues · Leave a comment

I can remember the feeling when, during the English same-sex marriage debates in 2012 and 2013, people like me were talked about as if we were inanimate objects, and whether we deserved the rights taken for granted by most of the population. Being spoken about as “not quite human” was gruelling and painful at times, […]

Trans People – Not Quite Human?

July 18, 2013 · by · in Politics, Trans Issues · Leave a comment

It would have been almost 10 years ago now that I stood on a railway bridge and pondered my future.  The thing that kept me from jumping then was a belief that I had some innate worth as a human being – that it would be better for me to be alive than dead.  At […]

Come On, You Must Celebrate

July 16, 2013 · by · in Politics, Trans Issues · 2 Comments

So now it’s law – same-sex marriages will be legal. Up and down the land lesbian and gay couples are rejoicing – and rightly so.  But I can’t muster up the enthusiasm for joining in. In March 2011 I spoke with Lynne Featherstone who explained to me her plans for bringing forward equal marriage so […]

Spousal Consent – Again…

July 5, 2013 · by · in Politics, Trans Issues · 4 Comments

The latest amendment to the same sex marriage bill by government on spousal consent attempts to explain exactly what the consent is for – namely, consent “to the marriage continuing after the issue of a full gender recognition certificate”.  In doing so, they once again spectacularly miss the point. Irrespective of what the spouse is […]

Life After Same Sex Marriage

June 18, 2013 · by · in Health, Trans Issues · 2 Comments

While not yet a done deal, it may be time for people in the trans and intersex communities to think about life after a Same Sex Marriage Act. Various discussions with senior people in all mainstream political parties have resulted in an amendment to partially remove the spousal veto that was causing so many issues.  […]

Won’t Anyone Think of the Children?

June 5, 2013 · by · in Politics, Trans Issues · Leave a comment

Even after the same sex marriage bill gained its second reading by a thumping majority in the House of Lords yesterday, a number of views that oppose the bill are still getting airtime.  Amongst these is Baroness Knight, who introduced the now infamous Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988.  This morning, on BBC […]

Spousal Veto and Annulment

May 22, 2013 · by · in Politics, Trans Issues · 12 Comments

Let’s unpack a couple of the issues from yesterday a bit more. Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, Clause 12(h) Just to remind you, this allows an annulment of a marriage if someone discovers their spouse has a gender recognition certificate (GRC) but didn’t tell them beforehand. The Minister’s response yesterday was, basically, that such people needed […]