Actor and his partner have been together over 21 years

First it was Ellen DeGeneres. Now George Takei wants to take advantage of California's gay marriage laws and tie the knot with his longtime partner Brad Altman.

"Our California dream is reality. Brad Altman and I can now marry," the 71-year-old "Star Trek" actor posted on his website Friday (May 16). "We are overjoyed! At long last, the barrier to full marriage rights for same-sex couples has been torn down. We are equal with all citizens of our state!"

On Thursday, May 15, the California Supreme Court lifted a ban on gay marriage, making it constitutional for same-sex couples to get hitched in the state.

"Brad and I have shared our lives together for over 21 years," continues Takei. "We've worked in partnership; he manages the business side of my career and I do the performing. We've traveled the world together from Europe to Asia to Australia. We've shared the good times as well as struggled through the bad. He helped me care for my ailing mother who lived with us for the last years of her life. He is my love and I can't imagine life without him. Now, we can have the dignity, as well as all the responsibilities, of marriage. We embrace it all heartily."

Takei goes on to draw parallels to the fear and misunderstanding that led to Japanese Americans, himself included, to be imprisoned in internment camps during World War II.

"With time, I know the opposition to same sex marriage, too, will be seen as an antique and discreditable part of our history," he writes. "As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy remarked on same sex marriage, 'Times can blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary and proper, in fact, serve only to oppress.'

"For now, Brad and I are enjoying the delicious dilemma of deciding where, when, and how we will be married. Marriage equality took a long time, but, like fine wine, its bouquet is simply exquisite."

Takei announced his homosexuality in October 2005. He's best knowon for playing Sulu on "Star Trek" and more recently appeared on NBC's hit drama "Heroes" as the father of Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), the hero who can bend space and time.