New York state celebrates first same-sex marriages

Wedding fever hit New York on Sunday, as hundreds of gay and lesbian couples lined up to be married on the first day that same-sex marriage was legal in the state.

In western New York, two grandmothers became the state's first legally wed same-sex couple, one month after Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a law making New York the nation's sixth, and largest, state to allow gay marriage.

Kitty Lambert, 54, and Cheryle Rudd, 53, from Buffalo, New York, were married just after midnight at Niagara Falls' State Park's Luna Island, with the traditional honeymoon capital Niagara Falls as a backdrop.

Lambert, an art gallery manager, choked up during the religious service, answering "Yes, yes, yes!" when asked if she was making the choice of her own free will.

"We're achieving that real American dream to be treated like everybody else and be protected under all those laws," Lambert said later.

The women danced on stage after being married to pop star Lady Gaga's "The Edge of Glory."

In New York City, couples and their families and friends formed a line around the block to be married at Manhattan's marriage bureau.

The first to be wed were Phyllis Siegel, 77, and Connie Kopelov, 85. The couple, who have been together for 23 years, emerged triumphant from the city clerk's office, and Kopelov, in a wheelchair, brandished their marriage certificate as a crowd of supporters cheered.

"I am breathless," Siegel said. "I am happy."

Officials, expecting a rush of gay couples wanting to get married, initially set a lottery capping the number of marriages on Sunday to 764 couples but later accepted all 823 couples across all five city boroughs.

Douglas Robinson, 60, and Michael Elsasser, 56, said they were particularly happy because their two adopted sons, Zachary and Justin, were there to support them as they got married.

"The state recognizes us as a real family now," Robinson, who works at a bank, said, adding "even though we've always known we were a family.

"The next step is to get full equal rights with the federal government," Robinson said.

New York City Council speaker Christine Quinn told reporters she is planning her own wedding with longtime partner Kim Catullo but not before next year. Quinn, who is widely expected to run for mayor, said the marriages were a triumph for human rights.

"Marriage equality is alive and well in every borough in New York City," she said.

DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE

Speaking on ABC television's "This Week with Christiane Amanpour" program, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he saw the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York as boosting momentum for its passage in other states.

New York is the sixth and largest U.S. state to allow gay marriage. Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia also do so.

"It's going to grow very rapidly, partially because New York is such a bellwether and so visible and so when we do something a lot of people, they don't necessarily copy it, but they look to see whether it would be appropriate for them as well," he said.

Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois and New Jersey have approved gay civil unions, and gay marriage is specifically banned in 39 states.

Civil liberties activists say New York's legalization of same-sex marriage sends a message to Congress that it must repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

"New York is sending a powerful message to the rest of the nation today as we once again lead the way for equal rights," said U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat.

The Defense of Marriage Act was signed into law in 1996 by Democratic President Bill Clinton. President Barack Obama has said he would support a bill meant to repeal the law.

The law prohibits same-sex couples from receiving marriage-based federal benefits such as Social Security survivor benefits, health benefits and the right to file taxes jointly.

Officials estimate legalizing gay marriage would add some $400 million to New York's strained economy over the next three years.

Bloomberg, who had pushed for same-sex marriage, is set to officiate at the marriage of two men who belong to his City Hall inner circle at Gracie Mansion, the mayor's official residence, later on Sunday.