No Nuptials for Knight

T.R. Knight is excited about the legalization of gay marriage in California, but that doesn't mean he's ready to say "I do"

T.R. Knight and his boyfriend of less than a year, college student Mark Cornelsen, are not getting married anytime soon.

In fact, Knight says he wasn’t able to fathom the idea of saying “I do” until just a couple of weeks ago, when the California Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.

“It was never an option,” Knight told me last night at a gay marriage celebration in West Hollywood. “You realize more when something like [the Supreme Court decision] happens that you’ve been treated like second-class citizens. But it’s simply a matter of our rights and freedom.”

Knight’s plans for marriage are so far off that he's stumped when asked to describe his fantasy wedding.

“I haven’t been planning on it, so I don’t know,” Knight says. “I don’t have one of those books made up. I’m going to have to give that some thought.”

Knight and Cornelsen seem to be OK with the rumors of an impending marriage that began after I reported in April that Knight had signed on to host last night’s event.

“T.R. called me one morning and said, ‘Oh my god, they just said on the radio that we were getting married,’ ” Cornelsen recalls with a laugh.

The event, put together by the Matthew Shepard Foundation and Love and Pride jewelry designer Udi Behr, included a group commitment ceremony of about 50 same-sex couples who also promised to vote against the upcoming ballot measure that would ban gay marriage. The sunset gathering included a performance of “Amazing Grace” by singer Pepper Mashay and guitarist Steve Oliver.

Jay Leno also stopped by to show his support and chat with Knight and Matthew Shepard’s mom, Judy Shepard.