* England and Wales legalised gay marriage in July
* Civil partnerships were just not enough, say activists
* Churches remain opposed to homosexual marriage
By Julia Fioretti
LONDON, Mar 27 (Reuters) - Peter McGraith and David Cabrezawill marry in London a stroke after midnight on Friday, markingthe culmination of a campaign to end a distinction many Britishgay couples say made them feel like second class citizens.
Saturday will be the first day gay couples will be allowedto tie the knot in England and Wales after the governmentlegalised same-sex marriage last July.
Gay couples have been allowed since 2005 to enter "civilpartnerships", conferring the same legal rights as marriage, butcampaigners say the distinction gives the impression thatsociety considers gay relationships inferior.
"It's back of the bus thinking," McGraith said, comparingthe rule on civil partnerships to segregation in the pre-civilrights United States when black Americans had to sit in the backof public buses.
"You understand that sense of the whole wedding thing andbaby showers and of it being an indulgence of other people's andnot ours," he said.
Emma Powell, 29, agreed. She will marry her partner SarahKeith, 30, on Saturday in Brighton, a resort town on England'ssouthern coast with a vibrant gay community.
"This notion of separate but equal makes you feel like asecond class citizen," she said.
The law's passage last summer caused deep splits in PrimeMinister David Cameron's ruling Conservative Party, where manyare opposed to same-sex marriage because it contradicts theirChristian beliefs.
But Cameron himself has always supported gay marriage andsaid last year: "It's been a real pleasure to ... deliver thislandmark social change for our country, which to me still comesback to the simple word of commitment."
Rainbow-coloured flags, international symbols of the gaymovement, will be flying over London's government quarter ofWhitehall over the weekend, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Cleggsaid on Thursday.
RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION
Gay marriage has faced opposition from most religious groupsdespite shifting public attitudes in Britain in favour of it.
The Church of England, which leads the world's 80 millionAnglicans, has struggled to reconcile rifts within its ranksover homosexuality as it seeks to tackle rising secularism andfalling attendance rates.
In new guidelines issued last month, it barred priests fromconducting gay and lesbian weddings or giving a formal blessingfor a same-sex marriage performed by local governmentregistrars. Only an informal blessing would be allowed.
The Anglican Communion, linking Anglicans across and beyondthe English-speaking world, has been split for years over gayrights and Biblical authority, especially since its U.S. branch- the Episcopal Church - ordained a gay bishop in 2003.
The leading Muslim, Catholic and Sikh groups in Britain wereall against the passage of the same-sex marriage law.
But for McGraith, religious opposition is not a concern.
"It (same-sex marriage) is not a legal issue, it's a civilmatter and I think that's where it should stay," he said.
Several businesses, for their part, have lent their supportfor this weekend's landmark.
Ice-cream brand Ben & Jerry's will be scooping outits marriage equality flavour "apple-y ever after" in a Londongay club on Friday while menswear retailer Moss Bros launched a wedding campaign this week featuring a same-sexcouple in its store windows.
NOT THE APOTHEOSIS
While the number of countries legalising gay marriage hasgrown significantly since the Netherlands made the first move in2000, only 17 currently allow gay couples to marry.
France legalised it last year despite several protestsdrawings hundreds of thousands onto the streets of Paris.
Scotland, which will hold a referendum on independence fromBritain in September, was the latest country to pass same-sexmarriage legislation last month, despite strong opposition fromthe Scottish Catholic Church and the Presbyterian Church ofScotland.
In some other parts of the world, governments have beenmoving in the opposite direction, clamping down on gay rights.
Uganda attracted international opprobrium in December whenit passed a controversial law that makes some homosexual actspunishable by life in prison. Homosexuality is illegal in 37African countries.
Russia also faced criticism over a law signed by PresidentVladimir Putin last year banning the spread of "gay propaganda"among minors.
In England and Wales, homosexuality was decriminalised in1967, starting off a series of reforms to give gay people thesame rights as everyone else.
But McGraith cautioned that there is still a long road aheadfor gay rights across the world.
"If we'd already got to a point where our rights were wellrecognised around the world, there would be so little attentionpaid to one little island bringing in an equal marriage," hesaid.
"Marriage is not the apotheosis of gay rights andemancipation." (Reporting by Julia Fioretti; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
