Takei Nuptials Approach

George Takei will marry his long-term partner Brad Altman on September 13th in a "show business-type" marriage ceremony.

As reported by Southern Voice, Takei and Altman will marry in a ceremony tailor-made to their personal tastes with several Star Trek alumni taking part in the ceremony. "We wanted to craft a wedding that is tailor-made to say 'us,'" said Takei.

A Mexican-American minister will preside over the ceremony. A Scottish bag pipe will lead the party from the Democracy Forum to the Japanese-American National Museum for the reception. The Los Angeles Gay Men's Choir will perform, and a musician on the ancient Japanese instrument, the Koto, will play jazz. Walter Koenig(Chekov) will be the best man, while Nichelle Nichols will be "best lady." "She didn't like the word 'matron,' explained Takei, "so we changed it."

"[The wedding's] going to be a somewhat of a show bizzy, musical comedy oriented," said Takei. "As a matter of fact, our wedding march is going to be 'One Singular Sensation' from 'Chorus Line,' so it might be a little bit 'toutou,' but it's who we are; we love musicals."

Takei has been active in the fight for gay marriage. He told the story of a family member who wanted to, but could not marry a Caucasian until the late 1940s. "My aunt, back in the '40s, wanted to marry a Caucasian man, and that couldn't be done until the California Supreme Court declared it equal in 1948, and they're still happily married," said Takei. "At that time, the rallying cry was the purity of the race. Now it's defined as a man or a woman. We're finding out what American democracy really is about. You should marry who you love, not artificially designated by gender."

According to Takei, as reported by The Huffington Post, problems still exist with acceptance of gays, but Takei feels that those problems will be overcome in time. "Now I see legalistic barbed-wire fences incarcerating another group of Americans. It's going to take some time. I know many people are patient, and I sense the impatience...but it will happen, it will eventually happen."

What will the marriage certificate give Takei that almost two decades of partnership hasn't? "We've had twenty-one years together," said Takei, "but what that wedding ceremony will do is give us that dignity."

To read more, head to the article located here. Takei can be seen in a video interview located here.

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