Gay Weddings Coming to UK Parliament

The speaker of the house of commons said Thursday that he believes the U.K. parliament is on track to host its first-ever civil partnership ceremony before May.

Speaker John Bercrow told journalists after a lunch in London that he was "optimistic," according to Bloomberg.

Recently, the speaker issued a recommendation for allowing civil partnerships to take place in parliament's Palace of Westminster as an incentive to encourage more gay people to run for office.

"Authorities have already applied for a license to host the event, Bercow said," according to Bloomberg. "Civil partnerships, permitted in the U.K. since 2005, cannot take place at religious venues. Weddings have long been carried out in the chapels on the grounds of Parliament."