http://www.wpherald.com/Family_Society/storyview.php?StoryID=20050222-125831-6107rBritain to allow gay civil unions
By THE WASHINGTON TIMES
From combined dispatches
Published February 22, 2005
LONDON -- Same-sex partners in Britain will be able to enter into civil unions beginning in December, joining homosexuals in parts of Europe and the United States in obtaining many of the rights enjoyed by married couples, the government said yesterday.
The Civil Partnerships Bill passed by Parliament last year gives same-sex couples the right to form legally binding partnerships and entitles them to some of the same tax and pension rights that married couples have.
The Royal Navy yesterday also announced a drive to recruit homosexuals into the force. The navy has signed an agreement with the lobbying group Stonewall to promote homosexual rights in the force and is about to advertise in the homosexual press for the first time.