The first gay and lesbian couples to wed under Maine's new same-sex
marriage law exchanged vows early today in a series of civil ceremonies
held shortly after midnight in the only state to welcome such nuptials
solely by popular vote."We finally feel equal and happy to be living in Maine," Steven Bridges (42) said shortly after he and his newly wedded husband, Michael Snell (53) became the first couple at City Hall in Maine's largest town to tie the knot.
After the pair had filled out the necessary paperwork, the city records clerk, Christine Horne, performed the brief, no-frills ceremony, pronouncing the two men married as they exchanged rings and kissed. Mr Snell's two adult daughters, both from a previous heterosexual marriage, looked on smiling.
Other couples waiting in the hallway outside the clerk's office cheered the pair as they emerged, and a much larger crowd of about 250 supporters huddled in front of the building let out a jubilant roar as Bridges, a retail manager, and Snell, a massage therapist, stepped out into the cold night air.
A group in the crowd sang the Beatles song "All You Need Is Love," accompanied by several musicians playing brass horns, and many carried signs with such slogans as "America's new day begins in Maine" and "Love one another".
Similar scenes were repeated as five more couples exchanged vows during the next two hours, and more weddings were expected before the office was scheduled to close again at 3 a.m. About 15 couples simply obtained their marriage licenses, with plans to wed later.
"We've been together for 30 years, and never thought that this country would allow marriages between gay couples," said Roberta Batt (71) an antiques dealer and retired physician with silver hair and round eyeglasses, as she and her longtime partner, Mary, waited their turn to wed.
"We're just very thankful to the people of Maine, and I hope the rest of the country goes the way this state has," she added.
Maine, Maryland and Washington state became the first three US states to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples by popular vote with passage of ballot initiatives on November 6th. But Maine was the only one of the three where voters did so entirely on their own, without state legislators precipitating a referendum by acting first.
Nine of the 50 US states plus the District of Columbia now have statutes legalising gay marriage. Washington's law took effect on December 9th, and Maryland's law does so on January 1st, 2013. Another 31 states have passed constitutional amendments restricting marriage to heterosexual couples.
City clerks' offices around Maine scheduled extra weekend office hours, some opening late last night as in Portland to accommodate same-sex couples rushing to wed as the new law went into force at 12.01am local time.
More lavish same-sex weddings were being booked for the spring at the On the Marsh Bistro in Kennebunk, said owner Denise Rubin. "We support it wholeheartedly," she said. "We look forward to being part of a whole new wave of wonderful thinking."
The tide of public opinion has been shifting in favor of allowing same-sex marriage. In May, President Barack Obama became the first US president to declare his support for allowing gay couples to marry.
A Pew Research Center survey from October found 49 per cent of Americans favored allowing gay marriage, with 40 per cent opposed. The US Supreme Court has agreed to review two challenges to federal and state laws that define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
The nation's highest court said this month it will review a case against a federal law that denies married same-sex couples the federal benefits that heterosexual couples receive. It also will look at a challenge to California's ban on gay marriage, known as Proposition 8, which voters narrowly approved in 2008.
Maine's voter-approved initiative this year marked a turnaround from 2009, when legislators passed a statute recognising gay marriage only to see it overturned that same year in a statewide referendum.