This Saturday, same-sex marriage became legal in the United Kingdom. Following the legalization, TODAY reported that Sir Elton John announced that he is planning to marry his partner, David Furnish. The two men have known each other for over twenty years, and have begun a civil partnership since 2005.
Elton John told TODAY that they planned to "do it very quietly" and expressed a great deal of happiness towards the new laws regarding same-sex marriage. Sir Elton John also commented, "Having our civil partnership was an incredible breakthrough for people that have campaigned for a long time - through the '60s and the '50s in England when it was so hard to be gay and hard to be open about it. And it was a criminal act. So for this legislation to come through is joyous, and we should celebrate it. We shouldn't just say, 'Oh, well we have a civil partnership. We're not going to bother to get married.' We will get married."
David Furnish, the musician's partner actually commented that he believed a marriage was not entirely necessary for him. However, he said he was happy to go through the ceremony to celebrate the new legislations, and since he believed themselves to be "committed for life".
Queen Elizabeth II, officially approved same-sex marriage following a majority vote in Parliament, allowing England to become the 15th nation to officially recognize the practice. Even the Church of England expressed that they accepted the new laws. However, the church announced that it will maintain strict regulations against clergy men from marrying gays and lesbians.