Throngs celebrate NY legalisation of gay marriage

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Street parties broke out in traditionally gay Manhattan neighborhoods overnight on Friday to Saturday, as crowds danced, kissed and hugged to celebrate the legalisation of gay marriage in New York state.

Police closed the corner of Christopher Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan's West Village to traffic, as throngs congregated near the Stonewall Inn, where riots broke out on June 28, 1969 after police raided the bar frequented by gay customers. The incident is seen as the birth of the modern gay rights movement.

"I'm ecstatic. I was waiting 30 years for that moment," said Frank Frederick, a 52-year-old doorman outside one of the bars that caters mainly to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community lining the street.

Frederick said he married his now ex-partner in a Catholic ceremony officiated by a sympathetic priest, but lived his 14-year "marriage" without the same legal rights that heterosexual couples enjoy.

Now he credits New York Governor Andrew Cuomo with turning the tide -- and for having the courage to submit the same-sex marriage bill to the Republican-controlled state senate, which had already shot down a similar measures in 2009.

"The difference was Cuomo. He has the power, he has the influence. He has all the credit," said Frederick.

Cuomo signed into law a bill legalising gay marriage after the state senate late on Friday narrowly approved the "Marriage Equality Act."

As Fredrick spoke, two young men exchanged passionate kisses near a tree, while same-sex couples held hands and sang. An activist waved a multi-color rainbow flag representing the gay community.

"Of course, I'm happy. But I'm also sad," said hospital worker Ari Sivion, 57, as he observed the celebrations.

"I lost my partner four years ago. I would like to have him here tonight," said Sivion, who has lived on Christopher Street since 1987.

"There're always a lot of people here in Christopher Street. But today is special. People congratulate each other for the winning," he said.

The new measure, which goes into effect in 30 days, will allow gay couples to "be human beings" in the eyes of the law, Sivion said.

The law's approval coincides with the beginning of the annual Gay Pride weekend, which culminates with a giant parade on Sunday.

While most revelers were swept up in the euphoria, others tempered their joy, realizing that this was just one step in the long march toward equal rights for gay people.

"It's a good thing. But now it has to be a federal level," said Anthony Losanno, 32, a sales manager in the crowd. He urged President Barack Obama to be bold and support gay marriage.

At a Democratic fundraising gala sponsored by the gay and lesbian community in New York on Thursday, Obama refrained from explicitly endorsing the state senate's bid to pass the gay marriage law.

"New York is doing exactly what democracies are supposed to do. There's a debate; there's deliberation about what it means here in New York to treat people fairly in the eyes of the law," said Obama -- words that failed to impress Losanno.

According to a March poll, the majority of Americans are currently in favor of allowing gay marriage, 53 percent to 44 percent.