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WORLD> America
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Gay couples across California trade weekend vows
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-22 10:44 WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- Same-sex couples across California exchanged vows and wedding bands on the first weekend since the state began allowing gays and lesbians to legally marry.
The city of West Hollywood, a staunch advocate of marriage rights for gays and lesbians, hosted a daylong marriage marathon Saturday, when about 100 same-sex couples planned to wed in ceremonies officiated by council members and administrators. Accompanied by camera-toting clusters of relatives and friends, couples traded vows under white trellises trimmed with red roses inside curtained cabanas in West Hollywood Park. Among them were Nancy Vasquez and Sandy Perron, partners of 16 years, who got their marriage license at West Hollywood City Hall on Tuesday and returned Saturday for the ceremony. "This is just the icing on the cake," said Perron, a 45 year-old human resources assistant from Gardena. "It's something we've been waiting for." California became the only US state besides Massachusetts to allow gay couples to marry on Monday, one month after the state Supreme Court overturned a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. |
