Thanks to new legislation passed in July 2013 which came into force on 13 March 2014, same sex couples can now be married!
This new law is for the whole of England and Wales. The first same-sex marriage since the law come into action took place on Saturday 29 March 2014 in Brighton and in Islington Town Hall, rings were exchanged and the confetti flew!
David Cameron has hailed the first same-sex marriage in England and Wales sending a “powerful message about equality in Britain”.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said “Britain will be a different place” as a result. He congratulated his party for being part of the reform, saying: “If our change to the law means a single young man or young woman who wants to come out, but who is scared of what the world will say, now feels safer, stronger, taller – well, for me, getting into coalition government will have been worth it just for that.”
The passing of the bill is obviously a huge step forward in the LGBT community’s fight for equal rights, and has made the United Kingdom one of sixteen countries that will allow same sex marriage by 2014. The waiting is finally over and there will more love and happiness than ever!
