Roughly 1,400 gay and lesbian couple
have married in New York City since the state began issuing marriage
licenses to gay couples on July 24, the New York Post
reported.
The
Post's
numbers are a guesstimate of sorts, since officials removed the
gender requirement from the application.
City Clerk Michael McSweeney told the
paper that it was reasonable to assume that the difference between
the number of licenses issued last year (4,200) and this year (5,587)
have gone to gay couples.
“We've had to work hard to handle the
increase, but even as same-sex marriage starts to feel routine here,
everyone seems profoundly happy to be here,” McSweeney told the
paper.
“Last week, we averaged 335 license
applications a day, busier than ever,” he added, referring to the
city's busiest month of August.
In remarks to the paper, several
couples expressed surprise that only 1 in 4 licenses were issued to
gay couples.
“It's great, but I'm surprised the
number isn't higher,” Miller Hall, 44, said as he and boyfriend of
11 years Vince Gatton prepared to apply for a marriage license.