MP letter: Reform wedding laws

Reform wedding laws in England and Wales

Ask your MP to support reforming England & Wales' outdated, Anglican-based wedding laws.

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Dear {{name}},

As a constituent, I urge you to support the Law Commission’s recommendations to reform wedding laws in England and Wales. These reforms would deliver greater freedom and fairness for all couples, whatever their religion or belief.

The commission has recently published proposals to modernise our outdated wedding laws – proposals that are widely backed by the public as well as faith and belief groups. Both full and summary versions of the recommendations can be found here: https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/weddings/

The proposals include: 
* Introducing an officiant-based system for the legal recognition of marriage, to replace the current restrictive building-based system. This means all weddings would be legally permitted to take place in a safe and dignified location chosen by the couple. The commission has also suggested a legal framework for including independent celebrants, which would further secure freedom of religion or belief for all.

* Universal legal rules for all weddings, with very few exceptions. Different rules currently apply to Anglican weddings, Jewish and Quaker weddings, other religious weddings, and civil weddings.

* A requirement that some ceremonies include "prescribed words" would be abolished. Couples would be able to have religious songs, readings and hymns as part of their civil weddings, provided the ceremony is still identifiable as a civil ceremony.

* New offences criminalising officiants who mislead anyone into thinking they are legally married when they are not. This will help protect people, particularly women in Muslim communities, from unknowingly entering religion-only marriages that offer no legal protections.

These proposals would remove the many unnecessary restrictions in the current law and address unfairness in the treatment of different groups. I therefore urge you to give them your full backing and work to ensure the recommendations are adopted in law.

I look forward to hearing your views on this matter.

Yours sincerely,

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MP letter: Reform wedding laws

Reform wedding laws in England and Wales

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