*proud*

Today I am feeling very proud to be British. Whatever else is wrong with the country, we have "gay marriage". (In inverted commas because a) not everyone in a same-sex relationship is gay, and b) it's been given a different name to avoid stupid people. Whatever. Everything about it is identical, except the name).

Same-sex couples can now easily obtain all the same rights, benefits and responsiblities as opposite-sex couples. Transsexuals can get their birth certificates changed to reflect their true gender. These are marks of civilisation.

The big issue now in queer politics is prodding the damn Government to remove that stupid clause in the GerBil (Gender Recognition Bill) that makes married transsexuals have to get divorced before they can get their birth certificate changed. It's nothing short of stupid to require that people in long-term, established, loving relationships have to get divorced - even if they can immediately re-register their relationship as a civil partnership, that's not the point. It should be possible just to officially change the name of the relationship without having to break it.

Edit: I was going to link to this anyway, but it's especially appropriate: Out of the mouths of babes., by rivka.