Now thats what I'm talking about!

[William769]

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



Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples across New York 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.

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 New York City, 823 couples signed up in advance to get marriage licenses on Sunday, and many of them were expected to marry in city clerk’s offices across the five boroughs. Officials from more than a dozen cities and towns from Buffalo to Brookhaven said they would open their offices to issue marriage licenses on Sunday, and more than 100 judges across the state have volunteered to officiate at the couples’ weddings on the spot.

“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 who 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.”


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/nyregion/across-new-york-hundreds-of-gay-couples-to-marry-on-sunday.html?_r=2&hp

[babylonsister]

1. The joy on their faces is palpable; love it!!! nt

[Zorra]

5. +100,000,000

[William769]

2. Link to a short video of this moment.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x603137

[William769]

3. Photos.

[William769]

4. More photos.

Michael Johnson, 55, left, and Michael Roberts, 81, of New York, embrace after getting married at the Manhattan City Clerk's office.


Jay Fischer, right, and Michael Lehrman wait on line to get married at the Brooklyn City Clerk's office.


Connie Kopelov, 84, and her wife Phyllis Siegel, 76, hold up a marriage certificate and celebrate as they exit the Manhattan City Clerks office.


From left: Nevan Cohen and Daniel Albert Hernandez emerge from Manhattan's City Clerk's Office, followed by Carol Anastasio and Miriam E. Brown.


Sabrina Velez is overcome with emotion while waiting on line to get married to Lillian Hernandez at the Brooklyn City Clerk's office on July 24, 2011 in New York City.