So pleased to republish this great blog post by Talk
about Equality who helped us document the stories of our
families celebrating the Freedom to Marry!
Sunday morning in New York City, close to 700 couples made history
by being the first gay and lesbian couples to marry in the
state.
Talk
About Equality and the Family Equality Council were
there to document these marriage pioneers!
The new law, which passed in New York and was signed by Governor
Andrew Cuomo 30 days ago, has broken the barrier to equality for
thousands. Couples of every age, size and shape were lined up
starting in the early hours this morning, to finally gain legal
recognition for their partnerships. We spoke to couples who’d
been together for 2 years and couples who’d been together 42
years – who’ve been patiently waiting for this sunny Sunday
morning at the New York City Clerk’s office.
Please enjoy some
photos from the day downtown, followed by a special reception
held by Governor Andrew Cuomo at New York’s Dream Hotel. At the
reception, the governor honored several individuals and
organizations who joined together to eventually win the fight for
marriage equality. And finally this evening at the LGBT Center of
New York, several organizations including Empire State Pride
Agenda, Transgender Legal Defense Network, Human Rights Campaign
and Freedom to Marry hosted an enormous wedding reception for the
newlyweds. Several elected representatives responsible for the
passage of marriage equality and special guest, George Takei helped
ring in the celebrations!
Also check out this video we put together about
Gabriel and Dylan, one of New York’s first married gay couples.
More photos, video and information on how to get married in New
York available at FamilyEquality.org :