First gay marriage takes place in NYS

Niagara Falls, NY - It was a wedding 12 years in the making.  Buffalonians Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd become the first same-sex couple to legally marry in New York State, just after midnight -- on the day the new law officially took effect, and, coincidentally, the anniversary of their first date.

Some 500 people gathered in Niagara Falls State Park to witness the ceremony. The crowd included the couple's friends and family, LGBT activists, some of the state lawmakers who helped pass the measure.

"Seven years ago, I met this incredible dynamo named Kitty Lambert. And she, in a lot of ways, changed my life. She and Cheryle and a few others got me focused on the importance of marriage equality", New York State Assemblyman Sam Hoyt said.

A friend of the couple said "It's something about love that brings us all here. But more importantly, it's about human rights, and equality for everyone -- to marry whom you love, to marry the person that you want to be with."

Kitty Lambert added, "Everybody puts locks on their doors, to protect what's important to them. People don't understand that gay Americans want to put locks on their relationships, to protect what's important to us."