US: Texas men in half-century relationship marry ‘in the name of God’
A gay couple in the US state of Texas who have been together for 53 years, married before a crowd of hundreds.
Jack Evans and George Harris, both in their 80s, married at the weekend, following the ruling by a Federal Judge that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.
According to NBC, the pair married at Northaven United Methodist Church in North Dallas.
Due to a stay which was immediately put on the ruling, pending appeal, the couple’s marriage is not legally recognised in the state as a whole, but that did not stop the couple getting married “in the name of God”.
During his vows, Evans said: “In the name of God, I take you George to be my married life partner”, to which Harris replied: “In the name of God I, George take you Jack to be my married life partner. ”
Reverend Bill McElvaney, the minister who officiated the ceremony, said: “The marriage of George and Jack is a sign of God’s love and their love for each other and our love for one another,
“It’s sufficient to say George and Jack are offering a gift, an invitation and a challenge to the United Methodist Church to become … a fully inclusive church… And we thank them for that.”
