LONDON – Britain legalised gay marriage on
Wednesday after Queen Elizabeth II gave her
royal assent to a bill approved by lawmakers,
the culture ministry said.
Same-sex couples will be able to marry from
next year after Prime Minister David Cameron
pushed the legislation through against the will
of dozens of his own Conservative lawmakers.
Members of parliament cheered as they were
told the historic bill, pushed through by Prime
Minister David Cameron despite opposition
within his own party, had passed into law.
The first gay weddings are expected in the
middle of next year as the government is
sorting out issues such as the impact on
pensions.
“This is a historic moment that will resonate in
many people’s lives,” said Culture Minister
Maria Miller, whose department was
responsible for the bill.
“I am proud that we have made it happen, and I
look forward to the first same sex wedding by
next summer.”
Lawmakers in parliament’s lower House of
Commons formally approved the bill on
Tuesday night, a day after the upper House of
Lords gave it the nod.
The queen’s assent, given in her capacity as
head of state, was then announced in both
chambers of parliament on Wednesday, at
which point it became law.
“I have to notify the House in accordance with
the Royal Assent 1967 that Her Majesty has
signified her Royal Assent to the following
acts… Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill,” John
Bercow, the speaker of the House of Commons,
told MPs.
The cheers that greeted the news belied the
stormy passage that the bill had through
parliament, during which many of Cameron’s
Conservative lawmakers opposed it
Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/07/britain-legalises-gay-marriage-as-queen-elizabeth-gives-assent/