Elton John Gay Marriage Under New British Law

[StoneMtn]

It's a family affair: Elton John to marry

London, United Kingdom

24 November 2005 09:47

British pop star Elton John will marry his long-time partner David Furnish in a small, private ceremony on December 21, the day civil partnerships between gay couples become legal in Britain.

The couple's parents will be the only witnesses at the ceremony, though it will be followed by a party later in the evening, John said in an interview with British gay lifestyle magazine Attitude, on sale on Friday.

"The ceremony itself will be very private," he said.

"It'll be a very small family affair and then in the evening there'll be a soiree somewhere, which we have yet to work out. But the ceremony itself will be David's parents and my parents and the two of us."

Elton John and Furnish, a Canadian-born filmmaker, have been together for 12 years, so the ceremony will be important largely for symbolic reasons.

"As far as I'm concerned I've always considered myself committed to Elton and he's the person that I want to spend the rest of my life with.

"So in that sense I don't feel like the dynamic of our relationship is going to change," Furnish said.

"But from a social standpoint, I think it's hugely significant. It is a major, major change. It is one of the defining issues of our times. And I applaud Britain for embracing the diversity of our society."

The new legislation, which comes into effect next month, will give same-sex couples many of the same rights as heterosexual married couples.

The government has deliberately avoided the word marriage to avoid upsetting religious sensibilities, although the partnerships give couples similar entitlements over tax, pensions and other benefits to those who are married.

Partners will even be able to dissolve the agreement in a form of divorce.

Civil partnerships have attracted a large number of enquiries from interested couples, although the Church of England has been less welcoming.

In July, bishops ruled that same-sex couples who unite via the civil partnerships will not be able to have their unions then blessed by Church of England clergy. - AFP

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=257613&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/

[d_rawk]

Not much of a fan of Elton, but hell yeah!!, the ball keeps rolling.

Partners will even be able to dissolve the agreement in a form of divorce.

We've got to get a move on that, here.

[StoneMtn]

It's already happened here. A lesbian couple was able to officially "divorce" under the Divorce Act in BC.