Civil partnerships undermine marriage and are morally wrong

As civil partnership ceremonies take place for the first time in the UK this week, The Christian Institute is speaking out against the new civil partnership scheme. Colin Hart, Director of The Christian Institute, said today:

“Civil partnerships are a parody of marriage, enshrining a lie into law. The definition of marriage, like the fact that there are two sexes, is a given in nature. The Government can no more change the real definition of marriage than it can decree there to be 24 hours of daylight. Civil partnerships radically undermine marriage by equating it with homosexual practice which is morally wrong.

“The Government believes marriage is socially constructed and can be turned into whatever it wants. But where will this stop? If two men can ‘marry’, what about the bisexual? Shouldn’t we allow three people to marry? What about a brother and sister who want to marry? What about people who want two or three marriages simultaneously? Should we alter marriage law for them?

“We are deeply concerned by the growing harassment of anyone who opposes homosexual practice. Family-values campaigner, Lynette Burrows, was recently contacted by the police after airing her criticism of adoption by gay couples on BBC radio. The Bishop of Chester was investigated by the Cheshire constabulary after he told his local newspaper of research showing that some homosexuals re-orientated to heterosexuality. A street preacher in Bournemouth was convicted of a public order offence because he held up a sign saying homosexuality was immoral.

“We know that marriage is associated with good health [Government Health Statistics Quarterly Autumn 2001, page 15] but homosexual relationships are associated with negative health outcomes.”

1. Because of the risk of infection any man who has ever had anal or oral sex with another man is banned from giving blood by the National Blood Service.
2. Homosexuals in a committed relationship are much more likely to engage in anal intercourse. This is associated with physical damage which exposes the receptive party to infection from his own faeces. Homosexual life expectancy is on average much shorter than other men. One Canadian study found that it was eight to 20 years shorter than all other men. [Hogg R S et al, ‘Modelling the Impact of HIV Disease on Mortality in Gay and Bisexual Men’, International Journal of Epidemiology, 26(3), 1997, pages 657-661]