Gay couples in Britain waited decades for the right to get married. When the opportunity came, it took just a few minutes to make history, according to The Washington Post.
Major shifts in attitudes have occurred in a country that little more than a decade ago had a law on the books banning the "promotion" of homosexuality, the Post reported.
Polls show about two-thirds of people in the country back gay unions, and support is highest among the young, according to the Post. Britain has seen none of the large street protests against gay marriage that have taken place in France.
Same-sex marriage has been welcomed with enthusiasm by Britain's Conservative-led government, according to the Post.
Rainbow flags went up over two government buildings Friday in what Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg called "a small symbol to celebrate a massive achievement," the Post reported.
In the 1980s, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's government passed a law banning schools and local authorities from "promoting" homosexuality or depicting it as "a pretended family relationship," according to the Post. That law wasn't repealed until 2003.
Yet when Parliament legalized same-sex marriage in July, it was by a wide margin and with the backing of Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, the Post reported.
The government also defused some opposition by exempting religious groups from conducting same-sex weddings unless they choose to opt in, according to the Post.
