Same-sex couples in Britain begin to marry, with country’s support

Gay couples in Britain waited decades for the right to get married. When they finally got it Saturday, many wasted no time, rushing to the altar by the dozens across the nation in the minutes after the clock struck midnight.

Londoners Sean Adl-Tabatabai and Sinclair Treadway were among the first to tie the knot when Britain’s new marriage law took effect.

The two men married in front of about 100 guests at their local town hall in the London borough of Camden – one of several locales holding late-night ceremonies to mark the occasion. By 10 minutes past midnight they were married, with a kiss and a registrar's declaration: "You are now husband and husband."

It's a sign of a profound shift in attitudes in a country that little more than a decade ago had a law on the books banning the "promotion" of homosexuality.

"Some people say, `You gays are trying to redefine marriage,' but the definition of marriage has already changed," said Treadway, a 20-year-old student originally from Los Angeles. "Now it's between two people who love each other."

Most Britons agree. Polls show about two-thirds of people in the country back the right to gay unions, and support is highest among the young. Britain has seen none of the large street protests against gay marriage that have taken place in France.

Same-sex marriage has been enthusiastically welcomed by Britain's Conservative-led government. Rainbow flags went up over two government buildings Friday in what Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg called "a small symbol to celebrate a massive achievement."

Treadway and Adl-Tabatabai, a 32-year-old TV producer from London, were married by the mayor of Camden, Jonathan Simpson, who declared the occasion "a huge step forward in civil rights for our country and also a big acknowledgment that love conquers all." They emerged to loud applause and the strains of "I Got You, Babe" by Sonny and Cher.

"It's amazing and surreal," Adl-Tabatabai said. "It did feel like a historic moment. When the mayor was saying those things, it really hit me."

It would have been almost unthinkable in the 1980s, when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's government passed a law banning schools and local authorities from "promoting" homosexuality or depicting it as "a pretended family relationship."

That law wasn't repealed until 2003. Yet when Parliament legalized same-sex marriage in July, it was by a wide margin and with the backing of Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron.

There was some heated rhetoric – mostly from traditionalists in Parliament's unelected upper chamber, the House of Lords – but ordinary Britons overwhelmingly supported gay marriage.

"What has amazed me is how much of Britain, how quickly, has moved toward backing us on this," columnist and former Conservative lawmaker Matthew Parris told Sky News on Friday.

Some cite the transitional step of civil partnership, a compromise introduced in 2005 that gave gay couples the same legal protections and rights as heterosexual married partners – but not the label of marriage.

The government also defused some opposition by exempting religious groups from conducting same-sex weddings unless they choose to opt in. Quakers and Liberal Judaism are among the few who have done so. The Church of England, the country's biggest faith, remains divided on the issue and does not conduct same-sex weddings.

Still, Saturday felt momentous to couples including Laura Smith and Sarah Nutley, marrying at London's elegant Mayfair Library in a service that included Britney Spears lyrics – Nutley is a fan.

"We're quite a traditional couple in a lot of senses, so we always wanted to get married," said Smith, a 25-year-old office manager from Boise, Idaho who moved to London six years ago. She met her 30-year-old British partner at work. "She thought I was an obnoxious American and I thought she was a bit standoffish."

They recently celebrated their fifth anniversary, but were never tempted to have a civil partnership.

"As much as civil partnership does give the couple the same benefits as marriage ... it's not the same," said Smith.

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