Short video: Gay couples marry in NY

Celebrate! Great day in NY state!

If you click here, you can see a terrific slideshow of the marriage celebrations going on in NYC at the City Clerks Office. Lots of happy couples here. Thanks to Tony Adams for posting his fantastic pics.

Marriage equality a reality in NY state

With a rainbow-lit Niagara Falls as a backdrop early Sunday, Lambert, 54, and Rudd, 53, were among the first gay couples to tie the knot with the blessing of the state, which last month became the sixth and largest to sanction gay marriage. Couples in Albany, Hudson and Long Island also exchanged vows just after midnight Saturday, kicking off what was expected to be a Sunday packed with weddings.

Lambert and Rudd, grandmothers with 12 grandchildren between them, have been together for more than a decade and had long been fighting for the right to marry.

The women, both of Buffalo, smiled broadly as they exchanged traditional marriage vows, promising to love and cherish each other in sickness and in health. The crowd of several hundred people cheered as they were pronounced married and shared their first kiss.

Read more here.

NYC to Hold Lottery for Gay Marriage Sunday

From the Wall Street Journal: Fearing demand for same-sex weddings will be too great for the City Clerk’s Office to handle this Sunday, city officials have announced a lottery for weddings on the first day that gay couples can legally wed in the state.

Officials said couples could be stuck waiting in long lines all day and, though the city has added extra clerks for Sunday, ultimately would not be able to get married because of the high volume.

The lottery will guarantee 764 couples — either opposite- or same-sex — access to marry at one of the City Clerk’s five offices Sunday.

The 764 couples to marry would be the largest number of marriages on any single day in city history.

As of Tuesday morning, the City Clerk’s Office had received 2,661 online applications since July 5th; the Clerk has estimated that 1,728 are from same-sex couples. Officials said the data collected by the city showed 54% of the online applicants planned to visit the clerk’s offices on Sunday in pursuit of a marriage license, and that 50% planned to marry that day.

According to the city, couples wishing to marry on Sunday may register for the lottery by going to the City Clerk’s website or by calling 311. The lottery will open for entries at noon on Tuesday and will close to entries at noon on Thursday.

The city will hold a separate lottery for each of the City Clerk’s five borough offices and lottery applicants must specify only one office where they wish to marry.

Winners of the lottery will be notified via e-mail or phone on Friday by noon. Officials urged couples who win a place in the lottery to arrive in the morning; couples must arrive no later than 3:45 p.m. Sunday.

“We’ve done our homework, and it’s clear that the number of couples who want to marry on Sunday is more than the City Clerk’s offices could possibly handle,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement. “And the last thing we want is for couples to wait on line for hours and hours, only to walk away upset on what was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives.”

“The fairest way to determine who gets the chance to wed on Sunday and ensure everyone can properly plan for their own big day is through an even-handed lottery system,” he added. “Nobody puts on big events like New York and we will be ready on Sunday for what will no doubt be an historic and unforgettable moment.”

Couples who have not been selected in the lottery can get married later in the week.

Christine Quinn, the city’s first female and openly gay council speaker, said, “This efficient and effective process for managing the first day of marriage equality in the five boroughs will maximize the excitement and dignity for all.”

Judges lining up for marriage equality's 1st day in NY

From the New York Times: As one of several dozen judges across the state who have volunteered to play an official role in marriage equality’s first day in New York state, Justice Thomas Raffaele is part of one of the most unusual judicial mobilizations in years. From Buffalo to the Bronx and pretty much everywhere else in New York, judges are signing up for rare Sunday duty.

If same-sex couples want to marry that Sunday, only judges would have the authority to dispense with the 24-hour waiting period required by law. And those judges could then officiate on the spot.

Another of the volunteer judges, Sherry Klein Heitler of State Supreme Court in Manhattan, said she was expecting something of a party at the city clerk’s office. “I think there will be a lot of people,” Justice Heitler said. “I think there will be a lot of emotion. I think there will be a lot of happy tears.”

Judge Richard B. Meyer of Essex County Court in Elizabethtown, N.Y., said he felt an obligation to help any couple trying to take advantage of their newly minted right.

“I think it’s important,” Judge Meyer said, “that people who have been waiting a long time to be married and who are anxious to do it have access to someone who is able to perform the ceremony on their time frame.”

In Rochester, Judge Joan S. Kohout said she had been thinking of the legal changes during her 23 years on the bench that enabled same-sex couples to adopt. As ideas about family have changed, she said, the families passing through her court have changed.

Judge Kohout volunteered, she said, because she saw the new marriage law as a further evolution. “I’m a Family Court judge — I’m a judge for families — and I saw this as a way for me to do my job,” she said.

Read more at the New York Times.

New approach to marriage equality in Maryland

A coalition of organizations will announce a new campaign to win marriage equality in Maryland at a news conference today.

The list of groups involved in the new effort includes Equality Maryland, Progressive Maryland, the ACLU, Human Rights Campaign, Freedom to Marry, Service Employees International Union and more.

The goal of the new effort is to pass a marriage equality bill in the 2012 Maryland legislative session, which begins in January. A marriage equality bill died in the House of Delegates in March after passing the Senate. Gov. Martin O’Malley has pledged to sign such a bill.

Read more at the Washington Blade.

A little boy 'gets' the idea of marriage equality

There. It's that easy.

Any questions?

:)

"Vegas! The Show" celebrates marriage equality

Reva Rice, star of "Vegas! The Show"
at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas

Las Vegas’ hottest, new stage production, VEGAS! The Show, continues its ongoing support of gay rights by offering FREE show tickets to same-sex married couples through the month of July.

The offer is in response to New York becoming the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage, joining Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia.

LGBT married couples who show proof of their union at the Saxe Theater box office will receive two free tickets to the show.

Theater owner, David Saxe, hopes this gesture will inspire other business owners across the nation to throw their support behind the movement. “The New York state Senate vote was a huge milestone, affording gay and lesbian couples the rights, dignity and respect that come with marriage. No matter how you look at it, this is a ‘human’ rights victory and it deserves to be commemorated.”

"VEGAS! The Show" takes the stage, twice nightly, at the Saxe Theater inside Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. Starring Broadway veteran Reva Rice (Fosse, Starlight Express) and a cast of more than 40 singers, dancers, showgirls and a live big band orchestra, this large-scale production takes the audience on a journey through the “glory days” of Las Vegas when The Rat Pack ruled, glamorous showgirls filled the stage and Elvis was the king of Vegas.

For more information about VEGAS! The Show, please log onto www.vegastheshow.com or call 702.318.6490.

If you plan to celebrate your marriage equality this month, get to Las Vegas and "Vegas! The Show."

Brad Pitt applauds marriage equality in NY state

Brad Pitt, exclusively to PEOPLE, on the recent legalization of same-sex marriage in New York State.

"It is encouraging that New York has joined the movement to grant equal marriage rights to its citizens. But it is each American's Constitutional right to marry the person they love, no matter what state they inhabit. No state should decide who can marry and who cannot. Thanks to the tireless work of so many, someday soon this discrimination will end and every American will be able to enjoy their equal right to marriage."

The star and marriage-equality activist, 47, once said in an interview that he and Angelina Jolie would not get married until everyone had the same right.

NY Gov. Cuomo at NYC Gay Pride

NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo at NYC Gay Pride after passing marriage equality in NY state

Now THIS is what a "fierce advocate" looks like.

Just in case a certain President is taking notes...

Via the New York Daily News: As the gay pride parade marched through the streets of New York City on Sunday, participants cheered the governor with signs bellowing “Thank you, Governor Cuomo.”

Two days after New York’s senate voted 33-29 to legalize gay marriage, the annual parade became the epicenter for the equality celebration, embodying this year’s theme: “Proud and Powerful.”

Half a million people were expected to take to the streets.

The Marriage Equality Act was passed in the state Senate on Friday evening, and signed into law by Cuomo at 11:55 p.m. ET, less than 2 hours after the vote. The law takes effect in 30 days.

Video: THE moment marriage equality passed in NY state

THE moment marriage equality passed in NY state!

Listen to the crowd in the gallery lose their minds!

Done! Governor Cuomo signs marriage equality into law

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed New York's gay marriage bill, starting what is expected to be a crush of gay weddings starting in 30 days - couples can start marrying on July 24th.

Tonight, the number of Americans who currently have access to marriage equality in their home states or districts more than doubled.

The Democratic governor signed the measure shortly before midnight Friday, following up on a promise to put his name on the legislation as soon as he received it rather than wait the usual 10 days to sign it for it to become law.

New York lawmakers voted 33-29 to legalize same-sex marriage, handing activists a breakthrough victory in the state where the gay rights movement was born.

New York will become the sixth state where gay couples can wed and the biggest by far.

History in NY State - Almost 42 Years After Stonewall, Marriage Equality Passes!

Stonewall tonight - June 24, 2011

The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. They are frequently cited as the first instance in American history when people in the homosexual community fought back against a government-sponsored system that persecuted sexual minorities, and they have become the defining event that marked the start of the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.

The last years of the 1960s were very contentious as many social movements were active, including the African American Civil Rights Movement, the Counterculture of the 1960s, and antiwar demonstrations. These influences served as catalysts for the Stonewall riots.

Very few establishments welcomed openly gay people in the 1950s and 1960s. Those that did were often bars, although bar owners and managers were rarely gay. The Stonewall Inn, at the time, was owned by the Mafia. It catered to an assortment of patrons, but it was known to be popular with the poorest and most marginalized people in the gay community.

Police raids on gay bars were routine in the 1960s, but officers quickly lost control of the situation at the Stonewall Inn, and attracted a crowd that was incited to riot.

After the Stonewall riots, gays and lesbians in New York City faced gender, class, and generational obstacles to becoming a cohesive community.

On June 28, 1970, the first Gay Pride marches took place in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York commemorating the anniversary of the riots.

Gay Pride events are held annually throughout the world toward the end of June to mark the Stonewall riots.

Today, June 24, 2011, NY state gay and lesbian committed couples cross a great milestone to being equal citizens by being allowed to enjoy the rights of marriage.

"I’m not what I want to be,

I’m not what I’m gonna be,

But thank God I’m not what I was"

NY celebrates marriage equality

(Historical details via Wikipedia):

NY state: Marriage equality to come to a vote tonight

New York state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos on Same Sex Marriage Legislation: "After many hours of deliberation and discussion over the past several weeks among the members, it has been decided that same sex marriage legislation will be brought to the full Senate for an up or down vote."

NY Conservative Party Chair Mike Long: "I'm sorry to say but the bill's going to pass."

Word is the 32nd vote is secured and possibly a few more.

Stay tuned kids...

NY Leaders Reach Consensus on Religious Exemptions for Marriage Equality

From the NY Times - 4:14pm on Friday: "The Cuomo administration and legislative leaders have reached agreement on language that would protect religious institutions from obligations to recognize same-sex marriage, two people involved in the negotiations said on Friday afternoon, potentially paving the way for a vote on the marriage legislation."

"Senate Republicans were still discussing the marriage bill among themselves in a close door meeting on Friday afternoon. And it remained unclear whether — and even if — they would permit a vote on the broader legislation. Assembly lawmakers, which approved an earlier version of the same-sex marriage bill last week, would need to approve the new language in a new vote before the full bill could become law."

Of course, all that being said - will the GOP state senators allow a vote on the bill???

Keith Olbermann: Organized Religion Holding Up Marriage Equality

Via Towleroad.com: Olbermann has moved his Countdown program to Current TV, where he used one of his special comments to, first, proclaim that gay marriage is inevitable, and then to blame religion for holding it back.

"Every year the margin by which this country supports this grows," he said of marriage equality. "And within a decade, or perhaps less, it will be universal in this nation. Period."

Watch the video.

Folks are getting frustrated with NY senate Republicans

After a week of mainly calm and respectful attendance by pro-marriage-equality supporters, nerves seem to be getting frayed as no vote is in sight on passing marriage equality.

From the NY Times: "Frustrations flared in the Capitol on Friday as Democratic lawmakers and gay rights advocates suggested that the Republicans in the state Senate were deliberately delaying a vote on whether to legalize same-sex marriage in New York."

"It was a marked change of tone from proponents of gay marriage, and it seemed to indicate that their collaborative relationship with the Republicans, in whose hands the fate of the measure rests, had begun to fray."

“It’s outrageous,” said State Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat. “We were sent home last night without really any explanation.”

Krueger and other Democrats inferred Republicans are stalling on the issue because they fear gay marriage will pass if the vote is put onto the floor.

Sen. Dean Skelos had indicated that he would have vote on the issue this session.

I think it's going to get ugly is they don't have this vote...

NY Times on the NY GOP inaction on marriage equality

NY Times editorial: "As we wrote this editorial on Thursday evening, we were still waiting for the New York State Senate to do what it should have done long ago — end a basic inequality under the law by allowing same-sex couples the full right to marry. The solution is obvious: Pass a clean bill that allows all adult New Yorkers to marry whomever they choose to marry, without unneeded exemptions for religious-affiliated organizations."

"Gov. Andrew Cuomo introduced a good bill, which was promptly approved by the Assembly. In the Senate, the measure seemed to be only one vote shy of passage, but Republicans have kept it from the floor."

Read more here.

Watch NY Senate Livefeed

Watch live streaming video from nysenate at livestream.com

There may be a late vote on marriage equality for NY state tonight.

for those of you outside of NY, you can watch the live feed here.

And keep your fingers crossed...

Lady Gaga & Sen. Jim Alesi - "Born This Way"

Check out this Lady Gaga mash-up that was created in honor of Senator Jim Alesi, the first NY state Republican senator to come out in support of the marriage equality bill, and his remarks at the rally yesterday.

Marriage equality in NY state - vote may happen Wednesday

Marriage equality in NY state is tied to rent control and tax cap bills, it appears.

From the Wall Street Journal: Senate Majority leader Dean Skelos said Tuesday afternoon that the framework for agreement on rent control and a tax cap had been reached. Those agreements appear to clear the way for gay marriage to be addressed separately as early as Wednesday.

Skelos, a Long Island Republican, holds great sway over which bills make it to the full Senate for a vote. He is opposed to gay marriage but says he'll let his members decide its fate.

Now that the Repubs have what they wanted on their two issues - will they let marriage equality come up for a vote tomorrow? And will one more state senator decide to stand on the right side of history?

Stay tuned.