Nadine Dorries said during the debate on same sex marriage last week that ‘This bill in no way makes a requirement of faithfulness from same-sex couples. In fact, it does the opposite’. Her rather surprising claim stems from the government’s plans to maintain the current definition of adultery in the equal marriage bill.
Although not defined in statute, case law defines adultery as sexual intercourse between persons of the opposite sex. So while a heterosexual man can be divorced on the basis of unfaithfulness with another woman, a homosexual man could not on the basis of unfaithfulness with another man.
The definition of adultery has caused legislators a collective headache as they have tried to adapt current marriage legislation so that it is capable of extending to same sex couples. The gay rights group Stonewall has, quite correctly, pointed out that even if gay couples cannot rely on adultery, they can petition for divorce on the basis of their partner’s unreasonable behaviour, which could include having an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with another person.
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