NEW YORK - The city will hold a lottery for couples who want to get married on the first day same-sex marriage will be legal, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Tuesday.
Bloomberg said that 764 couples would be selected to get married Sunday in the city clerk's five borough offices. Couples could register for the lottery online or by calling 311 in the 48 hours beginning noon Tuesday, and winners will be notified by Friday at noon.
Officials said they were trying to keep the day special for couples and prevent those seeking wedded bliss from waiting for hours only to be turned away.
"We want to make sure that Sunday is not like a trip to motor vehicles," said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
For couples who do not land a spot through the lottery, the city clerk's office will continue expanded operations next week, bringing in extra judges and staff and staying open two extra hours each day to handle the anticipated demand.
Starting Monday, those weddings will be performed first-come, first-served, but Bloomberg said he didn't expect people to be camping out overnight to get married.
"It's not buying an iPad 2," he said.
"It's way better," added Quinn.
Officials said 2,661 couples had already preregistered for marriage licenses online, and they believe about half of them wish to be married Sunday. In all, officials expect about 2,500 couples to enter the lottery.
Couples who live out of state can enter the lottery, but officials said they expected the majority of entrants to be local residents.
On Sunday, judges will perform three steps all at once: granting a marriage license, granting (on a case-by-case basis) a waiver of the waiting period, and performing a ceremony.
Generally, Quinn said, judges refuse to grant waivers only in cases where an individual appears to be under duress or under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
a bill that would repeal a 1996 law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its first hearing on the legislation Wednesday.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.), would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which makes same-sex couples ineligible for the many federal benefits that accrue to married, heterosexual couples.
White House press secretary Jay Carney reiterated President Obama's support for repealing the law.
Feinstein said she was under no illusion that Congress would move
this year to repeal the act. Still, she views the hearing as an important first step. She said that more people were open to gay marriage than in 1996.
The act passed both chambers of Congress by overwhelming margins and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.
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