Gay marriage is officially legal in the UK after the Queen gave royal assent to the new laws, paving the way for the first same-sex weddings by next summer.
The Queen gave her approval to the Bill – one of the most radical pieces of social legislation of her reign – this afternoon.
It opens the way for the first legally recognised same-sex weddings to take place in England and Wales by next summer and brings the centuries-old understanding of marriage as being solely between a man and a woman to an end.
Many MPs took to Twitter to say they were “delighted” with the news. Mike Weatherley, Tory MP for Hove and Portslade, said it had been “completely at odds with an open and democratic society to exclude gay couples from the important institution of marriage”.
Baroness Thornton, shadow equalities minister in the House of Lords, said there was a “huge ‘hear, hear’ when the Lord Speaker announced royal assent”, followed by “lots of smiles and cheerfulness”.
Earlier this week, peers gave their assent to the third reading of the Government’s same-sex marriage bill without a formal vote after a short debate in the Lords. They also backed plans for a review of pension arrangements for gay couples.
The Telegraph has the full article
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