The Civil Partnership Act 2004 was passed through and approved by Westminster Parliament in the month of November in 2004, and came into effect on December 5th 2005.
Under this Act, it allows for same-sex couples can register a civil partnership, which has basically the same legal effects, rights and obligations as a same sex marriage does for mixed-sex couples.
For that reason alone , civil partnership is sometimes referred as a ‘gay marriage’. Visit this page
However, legally, its still not regarded as a marriage , but is a separate, segregated system, itself a form of discrimination, and we are currently campaigning for equal marriage.
In Scotland, the civil partnership is available to same-sex couples, so long as both of you are of the age 16 and above, and neither is already in a civil partnership or married.
Like marriage, civil partnership is not available for close relatives (e.g. two sisters, father and son, aunt and niece).
Unlike England and Wales, in Scotland you don’t actually need to have parental permission to register a civil partnership while aged 16 or 17.