London Mayor Boris Johnson has recorded
a video for the Out4Marriage campaign, which supports the British
government's plan to legalize gay marriage by 2015.
“Hi folks, I'm Boris Johnson, I'm
Mayor of London,” Johnson says in the 38-second spot. “One of
the amazing things about London is that it's not only got a declining
crime rate, declining murder rate, more theaters than New York, less
rainfall than Rome but it's also one of the few places in the country
where the rate of marriage is actually increasing and I see
absolutely no reason why that happy state should be denied to anybody
in our country. And that's why I’m supporting the Out4Marriage
campaign.” (The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Johnson, a popular Conservative, has
previously backed gay nuptials and won reelection in May.
Out4Marriage welcomed Johnson's
participation.
“Boris Johnson was one of the first
senior Conservative politicians to back the idea of equal marriage,
doing so in public before the Prime Minister [David Cameron],”
Out4Marriage spokesman Benjamin Cohen told London daily Evening
Standard.
“He like many has been on a journey
when it comes to this issue and we welcome his support for
Out4Marriage as we edge closer to the publication of draft legislation
to allow gay couples to marry.”