David Furnish and Sir Elton John Britain may extend equality to its honours system, so partners of gay knights or lords, and the husbands or lesbian partners of dames, could receive a title too. Under the current honours system, wives of men made sirs or lords become ladies. There is no equivalent for the likes of Sir Elton John's partner David Furnish, nor can husbands of women made dames use a prefix. Tory MP Oliver Colville will this week unveil a bill aimed at bringing equality to the system, amid reports the government is preparing to investigate reform. His Honours (Equality of Titles for Partners) Bill asks "that leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision for husbands and civil partners of those receiving honours to be allowed to use equivalent honourary titles to those available to women". He told The Sunday Times: "The current system is uneven and rather outdated. "If you are made a peer or a knight, your wife automatically gets the title lady, but if you are gay or are a woman and become a dame your partner gets nothing."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 2nd July 2012 - 10:47am