NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wedding fever hit New York on Sunday, as hundreds of gay and lesbian couples married on the first day that same-sex marriage became legal in the state.
The marriages across New York, the nation's sixth, and largest, state to allow gay marriages prompted calls from activists and officials to repeal a federal law defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who had pushed for same-sex marriage, officiated personally at the marriage of two men belonging to his City Hall inner circle on Sunday evening atGracie Mansion, the mayor's official residence.
"Today in this city and in this state, history takes an important step forward by allowing every person to participate," Bloomberg said as he married John Feinblatt and Jonathan Mintz, accompanied by their daughters at the podium.
"Therefore by the powers vested in me by the state of New York, I pronounce you both married."
City officials said a record-breaking 659 couples, all five boroughs combined, braved a summer heat wave and long lines to obtain their marriage licenses.
"I think that is going to cause huge ripples and waves that will move marriage equality much more quickly for the rest of the country," New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn told reporters.
Quinn, who said she had begun planning her own wedding with longtime partner Kim Catullo, called the marriages a triumph for human rights.
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