London Mayor fulfilling ‘gay dream’

Gay campaigners praised the London Mayor’s record on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights last night as around 250 dignitaries gathered at City Hall for the annual pride reception. The event celebrated this weekend’s EuroPride parade in London and was addressed by gay campaigners, celebrities and sponsors.

Ben Summerskill, chief executive of gay charity Stonewall attributed the success of enacting civil partnerships legislation to Mr Livingstone’s London based partnership register, he said: “It’s been a quality year for LGBT people in this country, I didn’t think in my lifetime I would see couples signing up for civil partnerships, to secure exactly the same rights and entitlements as straight people derive from marriage.

“We would not have been able to persuade the government if we hadn’t been able to look at what Ken has done with his partnership register in London.

“Civil partnership has changed the lives of a single boy such as myself for whom no one as yet has popped the question.

“If Christmas came early for us it also came twice, with the support of campaigning organisations and trade unions we also secured changes to the Equality Act which will provide us at last with protection against discrimination in the provision of goods and services."

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