This morning, December 10, at Brighton Town Hall at 10am, 10 couples made history when they were all married at the same time on the first day the law allows the conversion of Civil Partnerships to Marriage.
THE MARRIAGE (Same Sex Couples) Act came into effect on Saturday, March 29, 2014. At that time there was no legal way for couples already in civil partnerships to be married.
This inequality was rectified this morning when it became legal for any civil partners to take up the option to be married.
One of the couples, Ian Scott and Ron Williams have been together for 52 years and became Civil Partners in 2006. They met in the 1960s and had no idea five decades ago that today they would ever be legally able to marry.
Ian explained: “When I first met Ron in 1962 I knew that there was something special and I felt that we would be together for the rest of our lives. Never, ever, did I think that it would be possible for us to be married. Now here we are 52 years later about to do just that. At the time of our Civil Partnership in January 2006 it seemed as if that was as far as we could go. Not so. December 10 will be a very special day indeed.”
Ron added: “When I met Ian in the Spring of 1962, I would not, in my wildest dreams, have imagined that one day we would be able to marry. Now 52 years on, we will be able to have equality of opportunity with straight people. We must thank all the campaigners who struggled for LGBT equality over many years. Now we see some religions coming round to acceptance of gay marriage. Better late than never. Maybe a long wait for other cultures around the world to reach this stage.”
Both Ian and Ron attended the Gay Elderly Mens Society (GEMS) Christmas dinner last Friday night (December 5) where the Mayor of Brighton, Cllr Brian Fitch and the Mayoress his wife Nora led a toast to the pair in advance of todays ceremony.
The Mayor, said: “What a wonderful story. Ian and Ron met and fell in love in Brighton in the 60s and they are now finally realising their dreams in one of the most gay friendly City’s in the UK. Both Nora and I send them both our sincere congratulation and we feel priviledged to share their day with them.”
Another local couple who tied the knot today were Paul Thompson and Peter Heron who became Civil Partners in June 2013.
Paul said: “Peter and I would like to send all the couples today our very best wishes. What a wonderful day this is for everyone and to top it all, the Mayor called me by my camp name, Polly!”
Linda Holm, Brighton & Hove City Council Superintendent Registrar, said: “It has been an absolute privilege to lead the Registrar team through this year of historic changes in the law and to achieve greater equality for same sex couples.
“We have been contacted by many couples keen to book with us to convert their civil partnership to marriage. So we chose to offer the chance to be the first to do so to as many couples as possible. We have had an enormous amount of interest with bookings from about 150 couples so far. We are delighted that we are able to have such a key role in helping civil partners become legally married.”
Following the ceremony the newly weds were entertained to a champagne reception with Sushi at Moshimo in Bartholomew Square.
The ten couples who married today were:
1. Jim and Raymond, Civil Partners from December 2005, Bournemouth, Dorset
2. Ian and Ron, Civil Partners from January 2006, Brighton
3. John and Ion, Civil Partners from May 2006 in High Wyecombe, Buckinghamshire
4. John and Aaron, Civil Partners from November 2007, Brighton Town Hall
5. Michael and Francis, Civil Partners from January 2008, Brighton Town Hall
6. Diane and Angela, Civil Partners from June 2010, Brighton Town Hall
7. Neil and Tom, Civil Partners from August 2011 in Sandon, Staffordshire
8. Peter and Philip, Civil Partners from December 2011, Wandsworth, London
9. Krysten and Faye, Civil Partners from March 2013, Shoreditch, London
10. Paul and Peter, Civil Partnered June 2013, Brighton Town Hall
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