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This petition was submitted during the 2017 to 2019 Parliament

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Closed petition To reform outdated English marriage law, which is no longer ‘Fit For Purpose’

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We need to reform the Marriage Act 1949 as it is 70 years out of date.

Make it compulsory for every faith to register marriages, not just 3 faiths (Anglicans, Jews and Quakers).

100,000s have no legal rights in an unregistered religious marriage and this figure is rising yearly.

Religious marriages conducted abroad are legally recognised, but UK religious marriages are not. The result? Chaos, injustice and discrimination:

- Overnight homelessness, destitution
- lost savings invested in ‘matrimonial’ home
- No Pension or Inheritance rights
- Men, women and children suffer

There are no Cohabitation rights - and these couples face a double handicap as they thought they were married.

In the 21st century, a fair and equal marriage law needs to cover all faiths.

289 signatures


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    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

    If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

    This petition will stay open until 22 May 2018.