A historic law legalising same-sex marriage came into force in England and Wales on Saturday, the final stage in the long fight for legal equality for gays and lesbians.

3月29日起，具有历史意义的同性婚姻合法化在英格兰和威尔士正式生效，同性恋群体长期来寻求法律平等的奋斗终于圆满来到了最终的阶段。

Several couples were conducting ceremonies on Friday night in a bid to be the first to say "I do", in what Prime Minister David Cameron said was an "important moment for our country".

周五晚有几对情侣在准备仪式，希望自己能成为英国第一对说“我愿意”的同性情侣。英国首相卡梅伦则表示，“这是我国的重大时刻”。

"Put simply, in Britain it will no longer matter whether you are straight or gay -- the state will recognise your relationship as equal," Cameron said in a statement.

“简而言之，英国将不再管你是同性恋还是异性恋——国家将承认你们的关系是平等的。” 卡梅伦在一份声明中这样表示。

Couples were vying¹ to make history by saying "I do" in the first few minutes of Saturday morning, when the historic marriage law passed by parliament last year came into force.

允许同性恋婚姻的法律去年由议会通过。周六早上的前几分钟，多对同性情侣互道“我愿意”创造历史。

Civil partnerships² have been legal since 2005 and marriage brings no new rights -- the ability to adopt, for example, was introduced in 2002. But campaigners demanded full equality with heterosexual couples.

英国自2005年民事伴侣关系就已合法化，同性婚姻合法化并没有给他们带来新的权利——比方说合法收养的权利在2002年就已经生效。但同性权益活动家们还是要求与异性恋情侣一般的完全平等。

"We didn't want to get married until it was a marriage that my mum and dad could have, that other men or women could have," Teresa Millward, 37, told AFP.

37岁的特蕾莎对法新社表示：“只有当同性的婚姻变成跟我的父母拥有的一样、其他男人和女人都能拥有的婚姻一样，我们才想结婚。”

She is marrying her girlfriend of 11 years, Helen Brearley, in Yorkshire in northern England on Saturday morning. Both will be dressed in cream, and Millward's father will walk them both down the aisle⁴" target="_blank">aisle³ of the register office.

周六早上在英国北部的约克郡，特蕾莎要跟自己交往了11年的女朋友海伦结婚了。她们俩都穿着奶油色的礼服，特蕾莎的父亲同时牵着她们俩的手走过婚姻登记处的走道。

Gay marriage was championed by Prime Minister David Cameron's government, and a rainbow flag will fly over government offices in London all weekend in celebration.

英国首相卡梅伦领导的这届政府很支持同性婚姻，整个周末，伦敦的政府办公室都将悬挂彩虹旗以示庆祝。