LGBT
Related: About this forumGay marriage legalized in Britain after queen gives royal stamp of approval
LONDON -- Britain has legalized gay marriage after Queen Elizabeth II gave her royal stamp of approval on Wednesday.
House of Commons Speaker John Bercow told lawmakers that the royal assent had been given the day after the bill to legalize same-sex marriage in England and Wales cleared Parliament.
The queen's approval was a formality. It clears the way for the first gay marriages next summer.
The bill enables gay couples to get married in both civil and religious ceremonies in England and Wales. It also will allow couples who had previously entered into a civil partnership to convert their relationship to a marriage.
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/07/17/19521374-gay-marriage-legalized-in-britain-after-queen-gives-royal-stamp-of-approval?lite
idwiyo
(5,113 posts)yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)Congratulations UK!!!!
How wonderful that William and Kate's baby is going to be born into a country where equality is even closer for all......I know a lot of work still to be done, but this baby is going to live in a more equal country then when William was born.
BeeBee
(1,074 posts)janlyn
(735 posts)Libertas1776
(2,888 posts)Although, to be technical, Britain as a whole has not legalized gay marriage, only England and Wales have. With the advent of devolution, It's up to "Holyrood," the Scottish Parliament, and "Stormont," the Northern Ireland Assembly, to tackle their own gay marriage bills that would officially make gay marriage legal in all of Great Britain. As far as I know, Scotland shouldn't be too difficult or far off, but I do not know about Northern Ireland. Don't know if they're as progressive as their Irish Republic neighbors where I last read that support for legalization of gay marriage hovered over 70 percent.
And as much as I hate to say it, a lot of credit is due to PM Cameron, who supported the legislation despite it splitting his own Conservative party on the issue.
tjwmason
(14,819 posts)There is a bill currently in front of the Scottish Parliament.
Northern Ireland is very different, I don't see it happening there for quite a while - they only got legalised gay sex in 1982... Northern Ireland is, however, covered by the U.K.-wide Civil Partnership legislation.