However, there is one thing that makes it more difficult for gay people and the discrimination far more intense because in the case of heterosexual couples there is always the option of marriage. That option is permanently foreclosed for gay people under the present legislation. As far back as 1967, when Declan Costello produced his constitutional review, even though there was no hint or suggestion that people were considering this kind of same sex relationship recognition, the report said it would not in any circumstances accept it. There was a strong traditional commitment against it, which was unfortunate. Now, as we know, an increasingly large number of people are caught in this situation, whether or not they are gay.