Hundreds of same-sex couples attempt to marry in NYC
February 13, 2009
Wearing signs that read "Just Not Married," hundreds of same-sex couples hoping to wed were turned away from Manhattan's marriage bureau yesterday during a nationwide protest aimed at recent decisions restricting the right to marry to a man and a woman.
A wave of demonstrations were expected throughout the country at marriage bureaus or county clerks' offices from New York City to California.
The protests are part of the 12th annual Freedom to Marry Week. The demonstrations were organized by two major marriage-equality advocates, Join the Impact and Marriage Equality USA.
Matt Flanders, 37, of Brooklyn, participated with his partner, Will Jennings, 29, in New York. Both wore engagement rings.
"They said, 'We cannot marry you.' And I said, 'I should be able to marry the person I love.' And they said, 'We can only offer you a domestic partnership,'" Flanders said.
This year's protests were considered more important than ever, because they come just as New Yorkers look to their State Senate to pass legislation that could lead to legalized gay marriage.
Same-sex marriages cannot legally be performed in New York. However, Gov. David A. Paterson has issued a directive requiring that all state agencies recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.
In November, Democrats won a narrow majority in the Senate, where Republicans in the past have buried legislation to legalize gay marriage.
Senate Majority Leader Malcolm A. Smith has suggested he and his fellow Democrats lack the votes to pass a same-sex marriage bill this year. However, Smith said recently that lawmakers are "committed to pursuing its passage."
