Gay couples celebrate marriage law anniversary

BOSTON – Alexander Westerhoff and Thomas Lang celebrated their first wedding anniversary Tuesday by holding a sign on the Statehouse steps reading: “Thank you Massachusetts for one year of equality.”

A year after Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to recognize same-sex marriages, Westerhoff said fears have subsided that lawmakers will nullify their union.

“I’m very hopeful,” he said. “The more time passes, the more people understand that we just want to be equal.”

Last May 17, couples lined up in city and town halls across the state to apply for marriage licenses. Since then, some 6,200 of them have been handed out to same-sex couples.

Couples marked the anniversary with celebrations like the one at the Statehouse, where hundreds of couples gathered for a group photo, firing rainbow streamers into the air that unfurled slowly onto the crowd. A reception was held nearby with Mayor Tom Menino and an evening party was scheduled at a downtown Boston hotel.

Judy Sclarsky, 45, said the last year has ushered in new rights and protections for same-sex couples.

“It’s a huge anniversary. We’re going to celebrate this day forever. I’m going to keep coming down to these steps every May 17. It’s an emancipation day for gays and lesbians,” she said.

The anniversary also brought protests from gay-marriage opponents. Some seek to oust the judges who legalized gay marriage in November 2003, while others protested the fact the state’s high court rewrote state law.