Tears Of Joy As Same-Sex Marriages Begin In New Jersey

Minutes after midnight, as Sunday turned into Monday, gay couples in towns and cities across New Jersey said their "I dos" as the state became the 14th to allow same-sex marriages.

The legal path was cleared for them Friday, as we reported, when the state's Supreme Court rejected a request to halt such ceremonies.

In Newark early Monday, Mayor Cory Booker (a Democrat who last week won a special election for the U.S. Senate) declared "it is officially past midnight, [and] marriage is equal in New Jersey," as he began a series of ceremonies in city hall.

According to The Star-Ledger:

 

"At one point, the event took a particularly emotional turn. As Booker married Gabriela Celeiro and Liz Salerno, the two held each other and got teary.

" 'There's some law about making a mayor cry, ' he joked. 'It's illegal.'

"He later said he had to collect himself before marrying the next couple."

 

There was at least one demonstrator at Newark's city hall. The Associated Press says "there was a brief disruption from a protester who cried out, 'This is unlawful in the eyes of God and Jesus Christ.' "

According to the Star-Ledger, police removed the man. Then there was applause when Booker resumed the ceremony by saying: "not hearing any substantive and worthy objections ..."

The New York Times writes that "in Lambertville, N.J., the marriage certificate of Beth Asaro and Joanne Schailey allowed only for a 'bride' and a 'groom,' so Ms. Asaro — in a pink suit — was listed as the groom, and Ms. Schailey — in a black suit — as the bride. ... So it went on Sunday night in towns across New Jersey, where a judge's ruling that the state must allow same-sex couples to marry went into effect just after midnight on Monday, capping a weekend-long frenzy of flower-arranging, Champagne-spraying, hair-styling, ring-buying and cake-baking. "

The Times says "hundreds of people ... rushed to make wedding arrangements over the weekend."

As Sarah Gonzalez of New Jersey Public Radio tells our Newscast Desk, "Republican Governor Chris Christie has appealed the gay marriage decision. The state Supreme Court is expected to rule in January."

Meanwhile, same-sex marriages are expected to continue in the state.

For an explainer on "gay marriage in New Jersey," click here.

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.