Couples wed in NY’s first same-sex marriages

Phyllis Siegel, 77, right, and Connie Kopelov

From Niagara Falls to Long Island, hundreds of gay couples were married Sunday in joyous, long-awaited ceremonies as New York became the sixth and largest state to recognize same-sex marriage.

Dressed in everything from formal suits and traditional white gowns to T-shirts, the couples began saying “I do’’ at midnight to the cheers and applause of family, friends and supporters.

“To us, we always felt married. But we didn’t have equality,’’ said Cindy Golden, just moments after saying her vows at the Manhattan city clerk’s office and formally taking the name of her partner of 16 years.

“I didn’t think it would ever happen,’’ Sophia Golden said, “to see it happen in this lifetime.’’

The National Organization for Marriage held rallies attended by thousands in New York City, Albany, Buffalo and Rochester. Protesters said Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers had redefined marriage without giving voters input, as they have been allowed in other states.

Cuomo campaigned in support of gay marriage, which he called a basic human right, and lobbied the Legislature hard before its historic June 24 vote to legalize it.

Across from his Manhattan office Sunday, a crowd that started with several hundred people swelled to thousands, and protesters waved signs saying “Excommunicate Cuomo’’ and “God cannot be mocked.’’

In Niagara Falls, the city made the most of its nickname, the Rainbow City. The rainbow is a recognized symbol of gay pride, and Niagara Falls, with its Rainbow Bridge to Canada, Rainbow Boulevard and Rainbow-themed businesses, hopes to attract some of the business same-sex weddings will provide.

Empire State Development Corp. estimates the legalization of gay marriage will generate about $400 million in economic benefits statewide over three years. The city hopes to be among the biggest benefactors of the law and all the hotel rooms, flowers, dinners out, breakfasts in, and cakes that go with it.

On Monday, the city will host the first group gay wedding in the state for about 50 couples who signed up to tie the knot en masse overlooking Niagara Falls. Officials hope the ceremony will nudge the careworn city perched on one of the world’s great natural wonders toward recapturing its storied identity as the world’s “Honeymoon Capital.’’

“We took the honeymoon designation for granted,’’ said Nicholas Mattera, spokesman for the Niagara Tourism & Convention Corp., which has begun redirecting funds and pouring time and manpower into recapturing happy couples of every persuasion. He and other civic leaders acknowledge they’ve let the blush fade from the Honeymoon Capital reputation over the last three or four decades.

Gen 19:4

¶

But before they lay down, the men of the city, [even] the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:

Gen 19:5

And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where [are] the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

Gen 19:6

And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

Gen 19:7

And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

Gen 19:9

And they said, Stand back. And they said [again], This one [fellow] came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, [even] Lot, and came near to break the door.

2Pe 2:6

And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned [them] with an overthrow, making [them] an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;