New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
has announced the city will raffle spots for couples to marry on
Sunday, the first day a gay marriage law takes effect.
The city's lottery will raffle 764
slots for the law's first day, a number which would shatter the
city's old record set in 2003 of 621 marriages in a single day on
Valentine's Day.
“We are going to make history on
Sunday, with the eyes of the nation once again turning to New York
City,” Bloomberg said in a statement.
“We've done our homework, and it's
clear that the number of couples who want to marry on Sunday is more
than the City Clerk's offices could possibly handle. And the last
thing we want is for couples to wait in line for hours and hours,
only to walk away upset on what was supposed to be the happiest day
of their lives.”
Manhattan has the most slots to offer
(400) followed by Brooklyn and Queens (112 each), the Bronx (98), and
Staten Island (42). Each borough will hold a separate lottery.
Officials said they expect about 2,500
couples – gay and straight – to enter the lottery.