We'll fight on - marriage bid pair
A lesbian couple have vowed to fight on in their legal battle to have their marriage recognised in Britain.
Celia Kitzinger and Sue Wilkinson wed in Vancouver, Canada, in 2003 in a country where same-sex marriages are legal. But the President of the High Court Family Division, Sir Mark Potter, refused to make a declaration that their marriage was valid in this country.
He said the couple faced "an insurmountable hurdle" in trying to have a same-sex marriage recognised under English law, which defines marriage as a union between a "man and a woman".
Ms Wilkinson, who walked hand in hand with her partner out of the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, said the ruling meant that their "valid and legal marriage" was not recognised in this country.
"We are deeply disappointed by the judgment, not just for ourselves but for other gay couples and families," she said.
She said they had been "stripped of our marriage" by a judge who preferred to uphold the "traditional notion" of marriage as between a man and a woman, primarily for producing children, adding: "It perpetuates discrimination and it sends out the message that lesbian and gay marriages are inferior."
The couple are now seeking financial help for an appeal and say the case so far has taken their life savings.
Giving his ruling in London, Sir Mark said: "It is apparent that the majority of people, or at least of governments, not only in England but Europe-wide, regard marriage as an age-old institution, valued and valuable, respectable and respected, as a means not only of encouraging monogamy but also the procreation of children and their development and nurture in a family unit in which both maternal and paternal influences are available in respect of their nurture and upbringing."
Marriage was, by "long-standing definition and acceptance", a formal relationship between a man and a woman primarily designed for producing and rearing children, he said.
He added that lasting single-sex relationships were "in no way inferior" and English law does not suggest they are, recognising them under the name of civil partnership.
