Just after midnight on Sunday at Niagara Falls, Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd became the first same-sex couple to be legally married in New York State.
They were among hundreds of gay and lesbian couples to take the plunge on Sunday after a law allowing same-sex marriages in New York came into effect. They made their vows in front of the famous waterfalls before more than 100 friends and relatives.
Lambert, 54, and Rudd, 53, met in Arizona after divorcing their husbands and have been together 12 years. They have five children and 12 grandchildren between them. “We’re finally getting the same rights as everyone else,” Rudd told the Associated Press. “Nobody can take that away from us any more.”
Photo: Reuters
照片：路透
In New York City 823 same sex couples were granted licenses to marry on Sunday. Phyllis Siegal, 76, and Connie Kopelov, 84, were the first same-sex couple to become legally married in the city. The couple live in Chelsea and have been together for 23 years.
Couples began lining up at the entrance to Manhattan ‘s Office of the City clerk in New York at 4:30 am, and a crowd gathered to cheer the newlyweds as they left the building.
The city council speaker, Christine Quinn, who is gay, told reporters: “They’re here in the most amazing of moments, where their hometown and their state are saying that their family matters, that their family is just as good as everybody else’s. And part of the law that in words said they were less than other people, which wasn’t true, is now gone.”
Photo: Bloomberg
照片：彭博社
The New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg, officiated at the marriage between his consumer affairs commissioner, Jonathan Mintz, and his chief policy adviser, John Feinblatt, on Sunday afternoon at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence. The mayor has been an outspoken champion of same-sex marriage rights.
New York is the largest state to legalize same-sex marriage. Others, including Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, plus Washington, D.C., and the Coquille Indian Tribe in Oregon, already recognize gay marriages, and gay rights activists are pushing for New York’s neighbor New Jersey to do the same. But most US states have brought in laws or constitutional amendments barring same-sex marriage, and they are not recognized at the national level by the US government.
(THE GUARDIAN)
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
週日零時一到，綺蒂．朗伯特與雪若．魯德在尼加拉瀑布，成為第一對在紐約州合法結婚的同性伴侶。
他們週日與數百對男同志與女同志配偶，一同趕在紐約州承認同性婚姻生效的第一時間，做出結婚的決定。他們在超過百位親友的見證下，於尼加拉瀑布前交換結婚誓言。
五十四歲的朗伯特與五十三歲的魯德各自離開前夫後，在亞利桑那州認識，她們至今已交往十二年了。他們一共有五個小孩與十二個孫子。魯德告訴美聯社說：「我們終於與其他人一般，享有一樣權利。」她說：「再也沒有人能夠剝奪我們所享有的權利。」
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
紐約市在週日授予八百二十三對同性伴侶結婚證書。七十六歲的菲利斯‧西格爾與八十四歲的康妮‧科裴洛夫，是該市首對合法結婚的同性伴侶。這對女同志住在雀爾喜區，至今已交往二十三年。
許多對同性伴侶於凌晨四點三十分就在紐約曼哈頓區辦公室外排隊，並有大批支持民眾到場，祝賀一對對走出大樓的同性新人。
該市議會議長克莉絲汀‧奎茵也是同志，她向記者表示：「他們在最值得慶賀的此刻聚集此地，他們的城鎮與他們的州政府，重視他們的家庭，並說他們的家庭就像其他家庭一樣棒。有部分法律文字過去寫道，他們低其他人一等，但實則不然，這種說法現已煙消雲散。」
Photo: Bloomberg
照片：彭博社
紐約市市長麥可‧彭博週日下午在市長官邸格雷西公寓，為其府內的消費者事務局局長強納森‧明茲與其首席政策顧問約翰‧芬布雷特主持婚禮。彭博市長一向坦率地支持同性婚姻。
紐約是同性婚姻合法的州中，人口最多的。其他已承認同志婚姻的地方包含康乃狄克州、愛荷華州、麻薩諸塞州、新罕布夏州、佛蒙特州、華府與奧勒岡州的印第安柯奇爾族；同時，同志權利倡議者正努力讓緊鄰紐約州的紐澤西州，也將同性婚姻合法化。但美國大多數的州，以法律或憲法修正案的方式，禁止同性婚姻，同時同性婚姻尚未得到美國聯邦政府的承認。
（《衛報》／翻譯：林亞蒂）
A: Apart from US singer Camila Cabello, Singaporean pop diva Sun Yanzi has two concerts scheduled at the K-Arena this weekend. B: Having debuted in 2000, Sun is now touring again to celebrate her career that has spanned over a quarter century. A: I like all of her 13 albums, but she hasn’t released one since A Dancing van Gogh in 2017. B: I hear that her shows will feature videos made by generative AI that will look back on her albums. A: Really? That’s awesome. Her music can always bring back fans’ great memories. A: 除了美國歌手卡蜜拉，新加坡歌后孫燕姿本週末將在高雄巨蛋嗨唱2場。 B: 哇2000年出道的孫燕姿，終於再度展開世界巡演慶祝出道25年！ A: 她出的13張專輯我全都很喜歡，但自從2017年《No. 13作品––跳舞的梵谷》她就沒再出過專輯了。 B: 聽說演唱會還有生成式AI影片，回顧過去所有專輯的精彩片段。 A:
A: Wow, Taiwanese pop band Sodagreen just held two concerts in Kaohsiung to mark the 20th anniversary of their debut. B: I’m glad they’re continuing to perform, even after taking several long breaks. A: Canadian singer Elijah Woods also staged a show in New Taipei on Tuesday, followed by US singer Camila Cabello, who is set to rock Kaohsiung tonight. B: I love Camila’s global hit Havana. It was the best-selling digital single of 2018, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). A: The singer with Cuban-Mexican heritage was born in Havana, and her music has been influenced by her roots. A:
An alarming increase in hearing problems among young adults has been linked to “Auditory Processing Disorder” (APD). Health experts warn that this issue could be partially associated with the growing use of “noise-canceling” headphones. APD occurs when the brain cannot properly interpret auditory information, despite one’s hearing ability being fully functional. This can lead to difficulties in understanding speech, particularly in noisy environments or when someone speaks quickly. People with this condition often need things repeated or take longer to respond in conversations. While these noise-canceling devices offer clear benefits in blocking external sounds, overuse may affect the
The sun-kissed slopes of Provence, France, have long buzzed with the gentle hum of bees among fields of lavender. The cultivation of lavender in this region took root in Roman times. People back then valued the plant for its healing properties, its soothing qualities in baths, and its fragrant use in perfumes. It wasn’t until the 19th century that lavender farming took off. In nearby Grasse — the perfume capital of the world — the perfume industry began to flourish. __1__ This boom led to the expansion of lavender cultivation across Provence, particularly in the Valensole Plateau. The region’s
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