NY gay couples wed as thousands of Christians protest

As hundreds of gay couples lined up outside New York marriage bureaus Sunday to wed, thousands more took to the streets to protest the historic day.

Sunday marked the first time that gay couples could legally marry in New York after the state Senate voted 33 to 29 to approve same-sex marriage on June 24. The law did not take effect for 30 days, which is why today was the first day that city clerk’s offices could issue marriage licenses to gay couples.

Municipal offices in New York City and more than a dozen other towns across the state opened for special weekend hours as gay couples from Niagara Falls to Manhattan lined up to get the paperwork that would enable them to marry, then say their “I do’s.” More than 100 judges across the state had volunteered to officiate. New York is the sixth and largest U.S. state to recognize same-sex marriage.

Meanwhile, more than 10,000 protestors gathered at rallies in Manhattan to demand that state legislators allow New Yorkers to vote on gay marriage by placing it on a statewide referendum, the Christian Post reports. Hundreds more gathered in simultaneous rallies in Albany, Rochester and Buffalo organized by the National Organization for Marriage chanting “Let the people vote!”

The protestors, including many black and Hispanic Christian groups, claimed that Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who campaigned on legalizing gay marriage, and N.Y. lawmakers had redefined marriage without voter input.

"If it had been put to the people, it wouldn’t have passed,” JoAnn Tomasello, one of the protestors gathered at Buffalo City Hall told the AP. “It’s not what the people want.”

Unlike other states like California, New York does not allow its populace to directly petition to get an issue like gay marriage on a ballot referendum. Instead, a simple majority of the state House and Senate would have to approve putting the issue before voters. Although polls show that the majority of the state’s 20 million residents support gay marriage, no U.S. state has ever approved gay marriage through a popular vote.