New York And The Semantics Of Same-Sex Marriage

Today, as The New York Times’ City Room reports, July 5, is the first day that gay and lesbian couples can apply for marriage licenses in New York City, however, there remains only one problem. The official online form, apparently unrevised, requires applicants to list both a “groom” and a “bride.” A Brooklyn resident of City Room’s acquaintance who called off a ceremony in Massachusetts in order to wed her girlfriend here in her hometown said she got as far as “Step 1: Groom — Info.” “I just looked at it, and then I stopped and said, ‘I can’t do this,’ ” she said. A spokesman for the City Council, Jamie McShane, said the wording would be fixed “later today.”