Last week the United Kingdom (UK) Guardian reported that to eliminate discrimination Prime Minister Teresa May directed that heterosexual couples may now enter into civil partnerships if they do not wish to marry.
"Every couple in England and Wales will in future be able to choose between a civil partnership and marriage when they formalise their relationship, the prime minister has announced. Ending months of uncertainty following defeat in the supreme court, the government has agreed to extend civil partnerships – available to same-sex couples since 2005 – to everyone."
According to this new directive, the expansion of marriage has created an intimacy conundrum and further discrimination. This was predicted nearly two decades ago in How Will the Proliferation and Recognition of Domestic Partnerships Affect Marriage? 4 J. Fam. Stud. 105 (2002). Could it indeed be that The First Amendment, Homosexual Unions, and “Newspeak”: Has the Language Surrounding the Marriage Debate Altered the nature of Marriage Itself, or Affected the truth of the Issues Inherent in Alternative Marriage Demands? 4 Liberty U. L. Rev. 593 (2010).
While this decision by the UK Prime Minister may reduce the discrimination felt by heterosexual couples who would rather not marry, it does not necessarily support family restoration. Instead, this decision moves a nation toward greater fluidity and less stability in personal sexual intimacy, a move that will not benefit the stability children need to accommodate their best interests.
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