A campaign group has launched a legal bid for gay marriage and heterosexual civil partnerships at the European courts.

Eight couples backed by the Equal Love campaign are filing a joint application to the European Court of Human Rights today to have the ban on gay civil marriages and heterosexual civil partnerships overturned.

The campaign is being spearheaded by gay rights advocate Peter Tatchell, who said same-sex couples were looking for more than a civil partnership.

“The 21 December is the fifth anniversary of the first civil partnership ceremonies in England. This was a breakthrough moment in legal equality and social acceptance for same-sex couples,” he said.

“Now it is time to go one step further by overturning the ban on gay civil marriages (i.e. marriages in register offices).

“Some same-sex couples do not want marriage. They are happy with civil partnerships. We respect their feelings. But other lesbian and gay couples would like to get married. It is the universally recognised system of love and commitment.”

He continued: “We sympathise with heterosexual couples who don’t like the patriarchal history of marriage and the idea of being called husband and wife. They would rather have a civil partnership instead. The law should give them that option.”

The group mounting the legal challenge at the European courts consists of four same-sex couples who were refused marriage licenses by their local register offices and four heterosexual couples whose applications for civil partnerships were turned down by their local register offices.

Mr Tatchell said there was “no justification” for the existence of two “mutually exclusive and discriminatory systems”.

He said current law discriminated against couples on the basis of sexual orientation.

“In a democratic society, we should all be equal before the law,” he said.