Opinion: The straight civil partnership ruling is a landmark for bisexual people too

After fighting for more than a year to have a civil partnership, Rebecca Steinfeld, 37, and Charles Keidan, 41, won the right to carry out the commitment in a landmark ruling today (June 27).

Facing ridicule and judgement for their campaign, members of the public have been fighting for a “rudimentary” version of what they already have.

It’s easy to understand the attraction of a civil partnership. It’s a modern, civil service that removes all religious connotations from the ceremony, which are at times eye-rollingly patriarchal.

Charles Keidan and Rebecca Steinfeld (Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

But I’m not just commending the right for people of any sexuality to have access to another institution of commitment, I’m celebrating that bisexual people can finally marry on equal terms.

Bisexual people are often forgotten in the conversation about LGBT+ rights.

Considered to be not quite gay or not quite straight, they struggle to fit into the community – and are often not taken seriously.

(Photo by Steffi Loos/Getty Images)

And if we are being offered the right to enter a civil partnership with someone of the same sex we deserve to have our orientation honoured with the same option with a member of the opposite sex.