Yet again, the choice of a civil partnership will not be extended to opposite-sex couples (Civil partnerships can be converted into marriages, 27 June). During the debate on gay marriage you published a letter from my partner and myself calling for parliament to make this option available. We explained we had felt reluctantly obliged to marry after a long-standing cohabitation because of discriminatory pension rules, subsequently changed. Sadly, opposite-sex civil partnerships became the victim of disgraceful parliamentary manoeuvring<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a> and note this reply<\/a> from the Very Rev Richard Giles who says “Civil partnerships should not only be available to opposite-sex couples (Letters, 1 July) but made the mandatory first step for all couples, irrespective of sexual orientation, who wish to commit publicly to a permanent relationship.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yet again, the choice of a civil partnership will not be extended to opposite-sex couples (Civil partnerships can be converted into marriages, 27 June). During the debate on gay marriage you published a letter from my partner and myself calling…<\/span><\/p>\n