[Livia]

I don't understand why civil partnerships, which are already legal and give gay people the same rights as a married couple, can't just be called a marriage. It's exactly the same as being married in a register office. If a couple love each other and want to marry, I see no reason why they shouldn't be allowed to do that.

However... I don't agree with forcing the church to marry gay couples which seems to be uppermost in people's demands. If you're going to force the Christian church to marry gay couples against their belief, you're going to have to force the Catholics, the Jews, the Hindus, the Muslims and every other organised religion to do the same. It seems that people accept that, for instance, the Muslim religion would not allow it, but see no problem with forcing the Christian church to do it. If a gay couple are religious, want to marry in a register office and have a church blessing, then would that not be enough? Many divorced heterosexual couples do this.