UK to remove “husband”, “wife” from official documents

PanARMENIAN.Net - Marriage certificates, tax forms and other official documents in UK could all be revised to remove the words “husband” and “wife,” according to Aol.

New reforms, proposed by the Coalition Government, intend to allow civil marriage for gay and lesbian couples for the first time.

The Daily Mail reports that this will mean that official forms need to be rewritten so that they no longer assume that a married couple is made up of a man and a woman.

This means that the words “husband” and “wife” will be replaced with more neutral terms such as “partner” or “spouse”, and “bride” and “bridegroom” could also be replaced.

According to the Daily Mail, businesses will be given “lead-in time” to change their websites and databases, so that their failure to recognise same-sex marriage doesn't fall foul of the law.

A consultation paper, produced by Home Secretary Theresa May and Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone, has set aside three months for public response before the new legislation is drawn up.

An “impact analysis” published by the Home Office said that UK Border Agency forms would replace “husbands and wives” with “spouses and partners.”

It added: "Some tax, National Insurance Contributions and tax credit legislation will have to be changed where there is a specific reference to a husband and wife."

References to husband and wife or “couples living together as husband and wife” will all be removed and forms and IT systems will all have to change to support the change in terminology.

The proposals have triggered a great deal of fury, especially among religious groups.