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Gay weddings begin in Connecticut as debate rages

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-13 09:48

NEW HAVEN– Gay and lesbian couples exchanged vows in Connecticut on Wednesday to cheers from smiling friends and proud relatives as the place became the United States' second state to allow same-sex marriage.

Peg Oliveira (L) and her partner Jennifer Vickery (R) celebrate their marriage holding their daughter Willow shortly after the two were married outside New Haven City Hall in New Haven, Connecticut, November 12, 2008. [Agencies]

"It shows me that public opinion is really changing," said Robin Levine-Ritterman, the first in line at City Hall in New Haven to get a marriage license with her partner of 17 years, Barbara, who already shares the same last name as a result of their prior civil union, as she clutched red roses.

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The official start of gay weddings, a month after the state's top court struck down a gay-marriage ban, underscores a steady expansion of gay rights in the US Northeast in sharp contrast to California's November 4 vote to ban such marriages, which sparked weekend protests by thousands.

"It's unbelievable," said a teary Joanne Mock, hugging her partner Beth Kerrigan. They were the lead plaintiffs who sued Connecticut in 2004 for the right to marry.

"It just seemed ridiculously simple to walk in and just sign the paper and have everything be OK," Mock said after receiving a marriage license in the town of West Hartford. "It feels fabulous."

Anne Stanback, president of gay rights group Love Makes a Family, said she expects hundreds of gay couples to receive marriage licenses in coming weeks and thousands more in 2009.

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