New York Gay Marriage Wedding Chapel Opens | On Top Magazine :: Gay & Lesbian News, Entertainment, Commentary & Travel

New York Gay Marriage Wedding Chapel Opens | On Top Magazine :: Gay & Lesbian News, Entertainment, Commentary & Travel

Two men are protesting New York's ban on gay marriage by creating a gay wedding chapel, the AFP reported.

Gay and lesbian couples in Manhattan are being married at the tiny chapel by a Universal Life Church reverend. Kevin Fey, who owns the revolving space with Joseph Peter, acquired the title on the Internet. The pair charge between $100 and $500 per couple.

Omar Portacio and John, his boyfriend of about a year, married at the chapel in under 10 minutes last Saturday.

“Being married means a lot, it shows our love for each other, it shows we are accepted and recognized as a couple, it is not just somebody we are living with.” Portacio said.

Many of the couples getting hitched at the chapel have legally married outside of the state but wanted to have a ceremony at home with family and friends. Others are getting fake married to protest the state's ban on gay marriage.

A bill that would legalize gay marriage in the state sits tight in the Senate, even after a dramatic leadership coup promised to resolve the issue.

New York Senator Tom Duane, who is openly gay, reiterated that he believes the bill will pass in the fall.

“New Yorkers support same-sex marriage in large part because they believe that denying gay couples the right to marry is legally and morally wrong,” he told the news service, then added, “I am confident that marriage equality will pass this year and that this legislation will pass with bipartisan support in the Senate.”

Meanwhile, the tiny Lower East Side chapel will continue marrying gay and lesbian couples for the next four months.