NEW YORK: Judges Rush To Volunteer For First Day Of Same-Sex Marriage

Dozens of New York judges have volunteered to officiate at same-sex marriages across the state on Sunday, July 24th, the first day they become legal.

As one of several dozen judges across the state who have volunteered to play an official role in the new law’s first day, Justice Raffaele is part of one of the most unusual judicial mobilizations in years. From Buffalo to the Bronx and pretty much everywhere else in New York, judges are signing up for rare Sunday duty. If same-sex couples want to marry that Sunday, only judges would have the authority to dispense with the 24-hour waiting period required by law. And those judges could then officiate on the spot. Another of the volunteer judges, Sherry Klein Heitler of State Supreme Court in Manhattan, said she was expecting something of a party at the city clerk’s office. “I think there will be a lot of people,” Justice Heitler said. “I think there will be a lot of emotion. I think there will be a lot of happy tears.”

Happy tears, indeed. I’m going to be torn over covering the NOM/Diaz hate rally or whether to be at City Hall.