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Jewish couple take civil partnership battle to High Court

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A Jewish couple who want civil partnerships to be available for heterosexuals have launched a legal challenge in the High Court.

Academics Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan decided to challenge the status quo after an official at a register office told them they were not eligible for a civil partnership because they were not the same sex.

The couple, from west London, argue that the Civil Partnership Act 2004 is “incompatible with equality law.”.

Over 30,000 people have signed a petition supporting their claim.

Dr Steinfeld, 34, told the Guardian: “We are taking this case because the UK government is barring us, and many thousands of opposite-sex couples like us, from the choice of forming a civil partnership, and we want this to change."

Mr Keidan, 39, added that it was time for government to open up civil partnerships to all couples.

The couple were granted permission to continue with their claim by a High Court judge in February 2015.

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