Scotland’s first gay married couple have described their sadness over the stopping of a civil partnership bid for a heterosexual couple as ‘gut-wrenching’.
Charles Keidan and Rebecca Steinfield have been arguing that they should be allowed to enter into a civil partnership. Currently civil partnerships are only open to couples of the same-sex, something they couple say is discriminatory, arguing that it should be open to everyone.
The couple lost their legal challenge last week after the Court of Appeal told them that the Government should be allowed more time to be able to think about the issue.
David and Scott Barclay of Renfrew, were Scotland’s first officially married couple, after a ceremony in December 2014, following legislation which allowed same-sex couples in to wed in Scotland.
Scott gave his support to the cause in a letter, saying that he was thankful for the number of ‘straight allies’ that stood by him and his husband when fighting for their right to marry, and therefore as members of the LGBT community, he feels that is it only right that they stand by their heterosexual counterparts and fight for equality.
Scott who is 36 has been in a partnership with David, 35 for 14 years. They entered into a civil partnership in 2007, followed by marriage in 2014.
The pair are both finance workers, and campaign actively in support of diversity and equality. The pair speak to schools as well as visiting community centres, while working with groups such as Stonewall Scotland, LGBT Youth Scotland, as well as the Equality Network.
Last year saw Scott nominated for the European Campaigner of the Year award, while he is the chairman of the Icon awards, which recognise people who work towards the goal of better diversity and inclusion in Scotland.
Scott has condemned the decision made by the Court of Appeals last week. He has said that the decision they made on the bid for civil-partnership was wrong, citing that Lady Justice Arden, one of the judges in the case, said that ‘the appellants are right’, only to find herself outvoted by the other judges.
He said that he can’t think of any other cases where a judge will admit that there is discrimination happening, but allow the ruling to stand regardless, saying: ‘I think in 2017 that’s madness. David and I, along with so many other people and organisations, are championing diversity and equality among all people and it makes us really angry it’s not been reached.’
He added that there’s no such thing as being ‘a wee bit equal’, saying that until total equality is reached in Scotland, then there is still more work to be done.
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