As the clock turned midnight last night, same-sex couples across England and Wales were vying to become the first to legally tie the knot in the UK.
Among the same-sex couples uttering, ‘I do,’ at a stroke past midnight was Peter McGraith and David Cabreza, who were married in front of friends and family, including political campaigner Peter Tatchell, and a swarm of press photographers, at Islington Town Hall. There will certainly be no worries in the McGraith-Cabreza household about whether or not the moment was captured from enough angles.
David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband have all hailed the change in legislation. The prime minister wrote in article for Pink News on Friday, ‘This weekend is an important moment for our country.’
‘It says we are a country that will continue to honour its proud traditions of respect, tolerance and equal worth,’ he added.
Meanwhile, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said, ‘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.’
While same-sex marriage in England and Wales is now legal (it was also legalised in Scotland in February), it is still opposed by many religious groups. And Northern Ireland does not look likely to follow suit anytime soon.
‘This is an incredibly happy time for so many gay couples and lesbian couples who will be getting married, but it’s an incredibly proud time for our country as well, recognising equal marriage in law,’ Ed Miliband said. However the Labour leader also recognised that the ‘battle for true equality’ is yet to be won.
Picture: Rex
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.