US: The battle over gay marriage in the United States spread yesterday to a small town in New York state whose mayor began marrying same-sex couples in the first such ceremonies in the state.
The weddings in the village of New Paltz, 130 km north of Manhattan, came on the day California's attorney general planned to ask that state's Supreme Court to rule on the legality of over 3,300 gay weddings in the past two weeks in San Francisco.
New Paltz Mayor Jason West - the state's first elected Green Party mayor - married couples outside Village Hall in what the 26-year-old official has described as "legal marriage ceremonies". Mr West had so far officiated at 19 gay weddings yesterday. Some people held placards saying: "Congratulations" and "Bush Get Out of My Bedroom".
- (Reuters)