The road towards same-sex marriage
and some of the people behind the journey
Friday 29th March 2024 will mark the 10th anniversary of the first same-sex marriages in England and Wales. In this article, QSA founder Steve Keith, shares the key pieces of legislation which have moved the LGBTQ+ community forwards (and back) in the last 67 years, and some of the people behind the journey.
Wolfenden Committee Report (1957)
Source: BBC
In 1957 a study containing recommendations for laws governing sexual behaviour, otherwise known as the Wolfenden Committee Report, was published. The Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution in Great Britain’s influential report chaired by British educationalist Sir John Frederick Wolfenden CBE (the Wolfenden Committee) recommended that ‘private and consenting’ homosexual behaviour should no longer be considered a criminal offence. Historically male homosexuality had been illegal in England since the Buggery Act of 1533 - this changed when Henry Labouchere, Liberal MP for Northampton and strong opponent of homosexuality, introduced Section 11 of the 1885 Criminal Law Amendment Act which made all homosexual acts of 'gross indecency' illegal.
The Homosexual Law Reform Society (1958)
Source: The Paris Review
In the year following the publication of the Wolfenden Committee Report, the Homosexual Law Reform Society (HLRS) formed to campaign for Government to implement the reforms recommended, namely the decriminalisation of gay male sex - the name of the society later changed to the Sexual Law Reform Society, whose guiding principle focused on the lowering of the age of consent. English poet, novelist and essayist Sir Stephen Spender CBE, whose work concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle became part of the society’s Executive Committee. He began a novel in 1929 called The Temple which gave the first indications of his bi-sexuality. The story was of a young Englishman finding freedom of expression in another country and a more liberal sexual attitude. He later fell in love, and lived together with a man before two marriages to women.
The Sexual Offences Act (1967)
Source: Wikipedia
After a decade of unsuccessful attempts to bring the recommendations of the Wolfenden Committee Report into law, a bill for The Sexual Offences Act of 1967 authored by Leo Abse, a colourful and controversial Jewish Labour MP who represented the South Wales mining constituency of Pontypool passed all stages in both houses and received Royal Assent on the 21st July 1967. Abse proposed the Sexual Offences (No.2) Bill, arguing that the law as it stood was “unjust and unenforceable”. The Act permitted homosexual acts between two consenting adults over the age of twenty-one. It was the beginning of the end of the persecution of gay men in Britain and the foundation upon which later measures to bar discrimination, introduce civil partnerships and, finally, legalise same-sex marriage would eventually be built.
Section 28 (1988)
Source: BBC
And then, despite progress made towards equality for the LGBT community came Section 28 of the Local Government Act in 1988. Section 28 was an amendment to the UK’s Local Government Act 1986. Its implementation meant that LGBT groups and clubs around the UK were forced to disband and LGBT-themed literature was taken off the shelves in libraries. Overnight, positive depictions of LGBT life were completely wiped out in schools and the LGBT community was made to feel as though they were second-class citizens and felt pressured to censor themselves and assimilate into society. Three particularly notable women - Booan Temple, Sally Francis and Lisa Power were amongst some of those who came up with loads of innovative ways to protest and mobilise the LGBT community which were not reported at the time, taking a stand against this highly discriminatory amendment. On the evening before Section 28 passed Booan Temple was one of the protesters who stormed the BBC News Studios’ 6 O’Clock News. Sally Francis helped to orchestrate the lesbain activists who abseiled into the House of Lords after peers voted in favour of the bill. Lisa Power was one of the co-editors of the Pink Paper which helped to mobilise lesbian and gay readers against section 28, as well as being an activist with the Organisation for Lesbian and Gay Action. She later co-founded Stonewall - now the largest LGBT rights organisation in Europe - in 1989 alongside Sir Ian McKellan and Michael Cashman.
Source: The Guardian
The Age of Consent Act (1998)
Source: Openly
In 1998, the British House of Commons voted overwhelmingly to lower the age of consent for homosexuals to 16, easily overcoming objections from leaders of the Church of England. At the time the Church of England opposed the change, saying it ‘’may give wrong messages both to young people and to our society as a whole.’’ The Anglican bishops said the church and state had a duty ‘’to protect young people from harm and exploitation and to offer them a vision of what is good”. This action, was much less contentious than a similar move made four years before reducing the age from 21 to 18, which brought the law into line with that for heterosexuals and brought Britain into conformity with laws elsewhere in Europe and in line with recent decision that was made by the European Human Rights Commission (ECHR) after a complaint raised by Mr Euan Sutherland to the ECHR stated that the fixing of the minimum age for lawful homosexual activities at 18 rather than 16, as for heterosexual activities, violated his right to respect for private life under Article 8.
The Gender Recognition Act (2004)
Source: Each Other
In 1998, the British House of Commons voted overwhelmingly to lower the age of consent for homosexuals to 16, easily overcoming objections from leaders of the Church of England. At the time the Church of England opposed the change, saying it ‘’may give wrong messages both to young people and to our society as a whole.’’ The Anglican bishops said the church and state had a duty ‘’to protect young people from harm and exploitation and to offer them a vision of what is good”. This action, was much less contentious than a similar move made four years before reducing the age from 21 to 18, which brought the law into line with that for heterosexuals and brought Britain into conformity with laws elsewhere in Europe and in line with recent decision that was made by the European Human Rights Commission (ECHR) after a complaint raised by Mr Euan Sutherland to the ECHR stated that the fixing of the minimum age for lawful homosexual activities at 18 rather than 16, as for heterosexual activities, violated his right to respect for private life under Article 8.
Civil Partnership Act (2004)
Source: The Mirror
The Civil Partnership Act 2004 was passed by the Westminster Parliament in November 2004, and came into effect on December 5th 2005. Under the Act, same-sex couples could register a civil partnership, which had almost the same legal effects, rights and obligations as marriage did for mixed-sex couples. For that reason, civil partnership was sometimes called ‘gay marriage’. However, legally, it was not marriage, but is a separate, segregated system, itself a form of discrimination, and was replaced with The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. The very first civil partnership ceremony took place on 5 December 2005 between Matthew Roche and Christopher Cramp at St Barnabas Hospice, Worthing, West Sussex. The statutory 15-day waiting period was waived as Matthew was suffering from terminal cancer; he died the next day.
The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act (2013)
Source: The Guardian
Civil partnerships were introduced in the United Kingdom in 2004, allowing same-sex couples and couples of whom one spouse had changed gender to live in legally-recognised intimate partnerships similar to marriage. It also compelled opposite-sex couples to end their marriage if one or both spouses underwent gender change surgery, or if the couple was not recognised in law as having male and female gender. However, the British Government considered marriage to be a hugely important institution in this country. The principles of long-term commitment and responsibility which underpin it bind society together and make it stronger. The Government believed that they should not prevent couples from marrying unless there are very good reasons – and loving someone of the same sex is not one of them.
The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 made the marriage of same sex couples lawful in England and Wales, while protecting and promoting religious freedom. The Government believed that opening up marriage to all couples demonstrated society’s respect for all individuals, regardless of their sexuality, making our society fairer and more inclusive for all its members. This change strengthened the vital institution of marriage and ensures that it remains an essential building block of modern society.
The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, was passed on 17 July 2013. The first ceremonies took place in England and Wales on 29 March 2014, with same-sex couples vying to claim the title of being the first to be married in Britain by timing their vows to finish just as the clock struck midnight. Peter McGraith and David Cabreza from north London had been partners for 17 years before they tied the knot at one-minute past midnight on 29 March 2014, making them the first same-sex couple to marry in the UK.
Full marriage equality in the UK was only achieved in 2020 when Northern Irish law was updated.
CELEBRATE ‘QUEER LIBERATION’ AT QSA2024 ON 26TH JUNE IN BIRMINGHAM
Tickets for the 2024 Queer Student Awards are now available. Join us at The Birmingham Town Hall this Pride month as we celebrate more young LGBTQ+ people and the organisations and individuals that support them.