UK to remove “husband”, “wife” from official documentsMarch 16, 2012 - 21:15 AMT 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. Top stories David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Partner news | Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. |