Same-sex marriage gives gay couples a “stamp of approval” not provided by domestic partnerships, a lawyer argued yesterday. Mark Pettingill, who argued against a government appeal to reverse a Supreme Court decision to reinstate same-sex marriages, added that the removal of the right sent a clear signal of disapproval. He said: “To remove this recognition is to make a statement that the group from who it is removed is not worthy — that in some way it is wrong for them to be married.” Mr Pettingill was speaking as he gave his closing arguments at the end of a three-day hearing in the Court of Appeal, where James Guthrie QC questioned the Constitutional grounds for an earlier ruling that struck down a ban on same-sex unions.