An amendment to the Equality Bill which would allow civil partnerships to be held in church was tabled in the House of Lords today.

It was tabled by Labour peer Lord Waheed Alli, who is gay, and would remove the prohibition which prevents them being held in religious buildings.

The Equality Bill reaches its House of Lords committee stage today and the amendment would give ministers of religion the option of presiding over the ceremonies, although it would not be compulsory.

When civil partnerships legislation was passed in 2005, a prohibition was placed on them being held in religious buildings. They must instead be carried out in other buildings licenced to host them.

Gino Meriano gay rights campaigner for same sex families comments “Since the introduction of the Civil Partnership Act it was clear from the figures that over 35,000 couples believe the Act gave them their long awaited legal rights. While some may believe this is second class it is very clear that while couples can enjoy the full benefits of legal protection, actions like above become easier to push forward in parliament, one step at a time. Ongoing campaigning for any grey area in our the community is strong and there will always be pockets that will need to be addressed, but while all of this continues to be fought for it is reassuring to know that is has no impact on couples legal protection. Unlike other countries it is better to have legal rights in place and never removed than an ongoing unstable battle of equal marriage that continues to cause upset to couples around the globe”.