Britain announced on Wednesday that Queen Elizabeth II had signed into law a bill legalising same-sex marriages in England and Wales. According to sources, the queen had approved the bill which was accepted with an overwhelming applause in the usually sedate House of Commons.
“This is a historic moment that will resonate in many people’s lives,” Equalities Minister Maria Miller said in an interview. “I am proud that we have made it happen and I look forward to the first same sex wedding by next summer.”
In this much of a controversial agenda, British political figures and religious leaders strongly opposed to legalising gay marriage but the opposition never reached a fever pitch. This was because the same-sex marriage bill had broad public support and the backing of the leaders of the three major political parties. In fact, it was Prime Minister David Cameron, leader of the tradition-minded Conservatives, who proposed the legislation in the first place.
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.
Although Britain showed the world that they are both modern and and tolerant; France has also legalised gay marriages, but only after a series of gigantic protests attracting families from the traditional heartland that revealed a deeply split society. Protests grew bigger, and spread wider. Even the opponents of the bill stirred up fears about gay parents raising France’s new generations.
The law was then passes, bringing a screeching halt to the opposing momentum.
(Source)