Christine Quinn, the highest-ranking New York City official to prefer Sappho over Catullus, got married on Saturday, and all the molar-grinding of bigots across America couldn't stop her because New York is among eight states (and a tiny little district) that either allow gay marriage or are waiting on legislation to legalize same-sex nuptials.
In the meantime, Quinn kicked off the summer with what sounds like a great party, beginning with her walk down the aisle to the tune of Beyoncé's "Ave Maria," all the way to State Senator Tom Duane "dancing up a storm" with his boyfriend of two years. Quinn's wife, New York lawyer Kim Catullo, wore a suit designed by Ralph Lauren and walked in to Bruce Springsteen's "If I Should Fall Behind" as 275 guests, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly surreptitiously stemmed the flow of tears with their hankies.
Quinn, the speaker of the New York City Council and widely-regarded as the frontrunner for the mayoral job as soon as Caesar Bloomberg abdicates the purple toga, has been one of the most vocal advocates of same-sex marriage in a state whose first same-sex marital vows were spoken almost a year ago on July 24. Once again, the East Coast megalopolis finds itself at America's cultural vanguard — recent polls have shown that more Americans are completely fine with gay people getting married, probably because it has no bearing on how they live their own lives.
New York City's most senior openly gay official weds [Reuters]