Ex-Anglican vicar's same-sex 'marriage'
Number: 5797 Date: Dec 2, 2
A former Church of England vicar will become one of the first people in the country to be married in a 'gay ceremony.'

Simon Long -- who was priest-in-charge of the Six Circa Holt parish, covering six villages deep in the heart of rural Leicestershire in 1990 -- will marry his 54-year-old former social worker partner, Kevin Crowe, on December 21. This will be the day that civil partnerships become legal.

The couple met 16 years ago, but their relationship created a Fleet Street scandal in 1998, when news of their relationship broke in The Times newspaper. The then Rev Long, who is now 65, spoke out to The Times after Anglican bishops ruled that gay relationships were unscriptural.

His published statement against the ruling caused a furore, with national newspaper cameramen and reporters camped out on his doorstep: "I'm glad I spoke out," said Simon, "because I was up-front and honest and there were no secrets. But it was very uncomfortable because Kevin and I were the focus of incandescent anger. The rest