First Gay Couples Wed in New York

(Newser) – At 12:01am this morning, gay rights activists Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd became one of the first—perhaps the very first—same-sex couples to wed in New York. The longtime partners, who have 12 grandchildren between them, were pronounced legally married by the mayor just after the clock chimed midnight in Niagara Falls. Fittingly, the New York Times notes, it was exactly a dozen years after their first date. Other couples across the state also started marrying the very minute they could, as gay marriage became legal in New York today.

In New York City, 823 couples will get marriage licenses today, and many are expected to marry in city clerk's offices. Others are planning fancy catered affairs; Brooklyn will open its Borough Hall for an entire series of weddings. Officials in other cities and towns will also open today to issue licenses, with more than 100 judges volunteering to officiate. But the Times notes that at least two town clerks have resigned over the new law, and the National Organization for Marriage is planning at least four protests today. The AP offers a look at four of the couples married today.