Same-Sex Couples Get Married in New York

After the State Senate approved same-sex marriage in New York, hundreds of gay and lesbian couples anticipated the first day it would be legal for them to receive marriage licenses. Many New York residents as well as out-of-state couples celebrated on July 24, lining up outside town halls and clerks' offices across New York to get married with their children and family members by their side to support them on the exciting day. The majority of the marriage licenses were distributed in New York City, almost three hundred in Manhattan which received the most coverage about the day's events. Couples varied in age, the first to wed being Phyllis Siegel and Connie Kopelov who were 76 and 84 years old. Many of the couples who received marriage licenses expressed their joy pertaining to the new found recognition of their union in New York.

July 24th was a victorious day for New York's LGBT community, with coverage on many of the city's weddings making newspaper headlines. The story in The New York Times was titled "After Long Wait, Same-Sex Couples Marry in New York. Barabaro covered many of the political issues pertaining to the day - focusing on Maryland and the legal and political obstacles, the protesters and demonstrations that were held, as well as Bloomberg and Cuomo's participation in the weddings in New York. Some couples were highlighted, sharing little on the stories behind the newlyweds. And since The New York Times is known as the "paper of record", it left room for a particular stance on the issue of same-sex marriage.

In comparison to The New York Times, BBC News and USA Today had little to say about the politics of the day but rather more of a leveled overview of the couples and marriages that were held. BBC News, as well as USA Today and The New York Times mention that New York is the sixth and largest US State to legalize same-sex marriage. However, BBC News had little to say about the events of the day, with no mention of protesters but rather highlighting a few couples that were excited to participate in the first legal gay weddings in New York.

USA Today mentioned protests that went on in New York, but did not go further into explaining its effects. The focus was more so on the different couples that were married. The article was interview driven, with little about the day's events and shining light on the stories behind certain couples that were married. Since there was so much background information on the couples, there was little opinion on the matter. Reading how the couples met instead of the happenings of the day was a little less focused than The New York Times.

The two additional sources that I chose to read about the recent news of the first same-sex weddings were from The Village Voice and Advocate.com, an e-newsletter that focuses on LGBT news. The Village Voice was the only source that I read that focused on weddings outside of Manhattan. The title of the article was "Calm in Queens on First Day of Gay Marriage in New York." It highlighted weddings in Queens and only a few couples that were wed at Queens Borough Hall. The text was interrupted with pictures of couples signing the marriage licenses and happy newlyweds. The E-Newsletter, the Advocate, touched upon the more internal LGBT issues that were not expressed in The New York Times or USA Today. For example, last year's controversy over domestic partnerships and same-sex couple having a second class status was more of the takeaway from the article. Although the couple were thrilled, deeper issues pertaining to the LGBT community were revealed in Sunday's victory as well.

I chose these two sources since the Village Voice was more local, reporting on marriages in Queens rather than just Manhattan. It had more of an alternative press coverage, that not all people in New York would be able to learn about. The Advocate had more of a political stance. And even though same-sex couples celebrated the fact that their marriage was legal and recognized, The Advocate focused on other issues that need to be addressed as well, such as marriage rights for the rest of the country.