After Long Wait, Same-Sex Couples Marry in New York

From New York City to Niagara Falls, N.Y., hundreds of gay and lesbian couples across the state began marrying on Sunday — the first taking their vows just after midnight — in the culmination of a long battle in the Legislature and a new milestone for gay rights advocates seeking to legalize same-sex marriage across the nation. Outside the city clerk’s office in Lower Manhattan, an orderly crowd had gathered in sweltering temperatures alongside metal police barriers hours before the doors opened around 8:45 a.m., prompting a cheer. At least one veil was in evidence.

Phyllis Siegel, 76, and Connie Kopelov, 84, who have been together in Manhattan for 23 years, were the first couple in, receiving a waiver from the rule requiring 24 hours between a license and a ceremony. They were ushered right into the chapel. Ms. Kopelov used a gray walker anchored by two tennis balls as they were married by the city clerk, Michael McSweeney.

As Mr. McSweeney declared to the couple, “I now pronounce you married,” Ms. Siegel tenderly held Ms. Kopelov’s head and kissed her on the left cheek. “I am breathless,” said Ms. Siegel.

The first male couple, Marcos A. Chaljub, 29, and Freddy L. Zambrano, 30, both of Queens, wore matching white shirts, green ties and black and white boat shoes — even their beards matched. After the newly married couple kissed for a sustained 12 seconds, a friend tossed rice grains out of a Ziploc bag and a small audience in the chapel erupted into loud applause.

In New York City, 823 couples had signed up in advance to get marriage licenses on Sunday. Marriage offices in each borough were open, with some drawing more than others. In some places, small groups of protesters with signs were on hand, as well, denouncing the new law. But there were no reports of major disturbances.

By late morning, hundreds of people were still waiting in line outside the office in Manhattan. Those who emerged after being married were greeted with cheers from passers-by, a cadre of journalists seeking interviews and even the congratulations of police officers assigned to keep order.

The City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, who is openly gay, witnessed the first marriages in Manhattan. “To hear a judge say, ‘By the laws of our state’? It sent a chill up my spine,” Ms. Quinn said.

Outside the five boroughs, more than a dozen other cities and towns from Buffalo to Brookhaven opened their offices to issue licenses, and over 100 judges across the state have volunteered to officiate.

“This is long overdue,” said Mayor Matthew T. Ryan of Binghamton, who planned to preside at the wedding of at least two local couples, and invited same-sex couples from Pennsylvania to come to his city to be married. “It really is a great day for all of us who believe in inclusiveness and equal rights for everybody.”

A few glitches were reported: in Manhattan, a printer jammed, delaying some marriages, and in Buffalo, a key local official was absent, causing a backlog.

The day of ceremonies began just after midnight. Against a cascade of rainbow-colored falls, and with cicadas humming in the background, Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd married at the first possible moment in Niagara Falls. After a bell tolled 12 times to ring in the new day, Ms. Lambert, 54, and Ms. Rudd, 53, held hands and kissed in front of more than 100 friends and family members.

In Albany, Dale Getto and Barbara Laven believed themselves to be first. “Oh yeah, no doubt about it,” said Mayor Gerald D. Jennings, flashing a satisfied grin and sweating profusely in his dark suit while standing in a muggy City Hall. “I summed it up right at twelve-oh-one-second.”

Ms. Getto and Ms. Laven, both 53, arrived in a white stretch Cadillac Escalade, but “don’t hold that against us,” Ms. Laven said. “It’s opening weekend at the track, so they didn’t have much,” she added, referring to the thoroughbred racetrack in nearby Saratoga Springs.

The ceremony took place in the mayor’s office, with eight friends and family members in attendance.

It was only the beginning. The day of weddings represented the end of a political campaign that lasted for years. On June 24, the State Senate voted 33 to 29 to approve same-sex marriage, and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed it into law that night. But the law did not take effect for 30 days, which is why Sunday was the first day that clerk’s offices were permitted to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.





By THOMAS KAPLAN and MICHAEL BARBARO
Published: July 24, 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/25/nyregion/after-long-wait-same-sex-couples-marry-in-new-york.html?_r=1&hp