House of Commons Speaker
John Bercow told politicians that the royal assent had been given Wednesday -
the day after the bill to legalise 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.
MPs decided not to
oppose a number of minor amendments to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill
proposed by the upper House of Lords.
Jubilant gay rights
activists had danced outside parliament on Monday night as the
government-backed bill passed unopposed through the upper House of Lords, where
some members wore pink carnations.
Government computer
systems also need to be updated to allow same-sex marriages to be registered,
at an estimated cost of 2 million pounds ($3.34 million).
But the government hopes
legalising gay marriage will bring an overall boost to the economy, estimating
that the change could bring in up to 14.4 million pounds a year for caterers,
hotels and the rest of the wedding industry.
The bill survived a
stormy passage through parliament, with dozens of members of Prime Minister
David Cameron's own Conservative party voting against it.
An attempt in the Lords
last month to kill off the legislation with a "wrecking amendment"
failed..
Gay rights activists
have vowed to press on for equal marriage in the United Kingdom's other two
nations, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
France became the 14th
country to legalise same-sex marriage in May, joining The Netherlands, Spain,
Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, Denmark,
Uruguay, Belgium, and New Zealand.
Gay couples can marry in
13 US states, as well as in the capital Washington DC, while parts of Mexico
also allow same-sex marriage.
via naunews
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