109.Part 2 governs how new legislation made after the passing of this Act is to be interpreted. It sets out the meanings of specific words relating to marriage (such as “husband” and “wife”). It reflects the main principle of the Act, which is to put marriage of same sex couples on an equal footing with marriage of opposite sex couples. This will ensure that gender-specific terms such as “husband” keep their gender-specific effect.
110.It should be noted that in Part 7 of Schedule 4, paragraph 27 provides a power for the Secretary of State to modify or disapply the provisions of Schedule 3 in specified circumstances.
Example
The term “husband” will in future legislation include a man who is married to another man (but not a woman married to another woman); and “wife” will include a woman who is married to another woman (but not a man married to another man) unless specific alternative provision is made.