• 15
  • January
    2012

Six months after New York passed its Marriage Equality Act, numerous same-sex couples have been tying the knot. A Rochester, New York, pastor says he has performed 12 same-sex marriage ceremonies since they became legal on July 24, 2011. He has three more weddings planned for 2012.

The pastor says the couples have all been from his parish, and all of them have been together for several years. One couple had been same-sex partners for 41 years before the pair took their marriage vows. Two other couples had been together for more than 30 years.

New York's legislature passed the Marriage Equality Act on June 24, and Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the legislation that day. When it took effect a month later, New York became the largest state where gay and lesbian couples can legally marry. The state is different from some because it will grant marriage licenses to non-residents.

Twelve same-sex partners have applied for marriage licenses in Elmira, New York. A deputy city clerk says women made up seven of the couples and men made up the rest. Most of the couples reside in states other than New York.

In Corning, New York, the city clerk has issued six licenses for same-gender partners to marry. Half of the couples traveled from other states. Meanwhile, five lesbian couples have applied for marriage licenses in Hornell, New York.

The director of Cornell University's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center says New York's law sends a "very powerful message of acceptance to our LGBT community and to the world."

Source: Star Gazette, "N.Y. says 'I do' to same-sex marriage," Ray Finger, Dec. 30, 2011.