WASHINGTON: "Marriage is about love, not gender," read a popular poster at the height of the movement to legalize same-sex marriage in the United States. And certainly not about age even in same-sex unions, the footnote could have read.In a remarkable development that has caused a flutter in social and political discourse in a feverish electoral season, a 90-year old former US senator, widowed for 20 years now after a 48-year marriage to his late wife, revealed over the weekend that he is marrying a man 50 years younger to him."Too often, our society seeks to label people by pinning them on the wall — straight, gay or in between. I don’t categorize myself based on the gender of those I love. I had a half-century of marriage with a wonderful woman, and now am lucky for a second time to have found happiness," former Pennsylvania senator Harris Wofford , a Democrat who was once a special assistant to John F Kennedy and adviser to Martin Luther King Jr, wrote in an New York Times op-ed on April 23.Wofford briefly described his 20-year romance with Matthew Charlton , a 40-year old non-political designer who has been his partner for the past 15 years. "At age 70, I did not imagine that I would fall in love again and remarry. But the past 20 years have made my life a story of two great loves," he wrote, recalling a happy first marriage to Clare, with whom he had three children, and the process of falling in love with Matthew.Wofford said he had disclosed the relationship to his sons and daughter, who have welcomed Matthew as a member of the family, while Matthew’s parents have accepted him (Wooford) warmly. "To some, our bond is entirely natural, to others it comes as a strange surprise, but most soon see the strength of our feelings and our devotion to each other. We have now been together for 15 years," Wofford wrote.The Wofford Chronicles comes just ahead of the primaries on Tuesday in Pennsylvania, which he represented as a senator after winning a special election caused death of John Heinz who died in a plane crash in 1991. Wofford lost a re-election bid to Rick Santorum, an arch conservative, but was highly regarded in Democratic circles to merit consideration as a vice-presidential candidate during Bill Clinton’s presidential bid.Wofford’s remarkably candid disclosure was welcomed by many Democrats, including Pennsylvania Bob Casey, who thanked him for his "brave and inspiring op-ed" in a tweet hashtagged #loveislove. The op-ed itself came on the 400th death anniversary of William Shakespeare, who Sonnet #116 begins: "Let me not to the marriage of true minds. Admit impediments.""At age 90, I am lucky to be in an era where the supreme court has strengthened what President Obama calls 'the dignity of marriage' by recognizing that matrimony is not based on anyone’s sexual nature, choices or dreams. It is based on love," Wofford concluded."All this is on my mind as Matthew and I prepare for our marriage ceremony. On April 30, at ages 90 and 40, we will join hands, vowing to be bound together: to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do us part."