A 92-year-old gay man who was convicted under the UK’s old anti-homosexuality law has married his long-term partner.
George Montague, 92, who likes to be known as the “oldest gay in the village”, tied the knot with his partner of 16 years, Somchai Phukkhlai, this week at Brighton town hall – ahead of the city’s famous Brighton Pride festival, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
The men were already in a civil partnership but had this converted into a marriage.
Mr Montague, who has lived in Brighton for 12 years, is reported to have told the BBC: “Gay people have never had it so good.”
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He was married with three children and did not start living as gay man until he was 59.
But he had realised he was gay during his 20s and was convicted under an old British law, which criminalised homosexual acts between men, in his mid-40s, according to Pink News.
George Montague, the 'oldest gay in the village', got married yesterday at the age of 92. #BrightonPride pic.twitter.com/nwmA83DRsk
— Gay Star News (@gaystarnews) August 1, 2015
"You're only as old as the man you feel!" - George Montague, the oldest gay in the village. pic.twitter.com/nQbJ0Q6bTQ
— Manchester Pride (@ManchesterPride) August 30, 2014
Gay sex acts between men aged 21, and which took place in private, were decriminalised in England and Wales in 1967.
The age of consent was lowered to 18 in 1994, and to 16, in line with the law as applied to hetrosexuals, in 2000.
It is understood that Mr Montague is trying to get his criminal conviction overturned.
The newlywed attends Brighton Pride every year and can usually be seen riding on his mobility scooter carrying a sign saying “I’m the oldest gay in the village”.
Gay Star News reported that he has become the oldest gay man in the world to marry.
