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Marriage Forms Temporarily Forced Gay Couples to be 'Bride' and 'Groom'

By DNAinfo Staff on July 5, 2011 1:31pm

By Jill Colvin

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — The state’s gay marriage laws may have changed, but the city’s online application forms lagged behind.

Eager same-sex couples, who were able to apply for marriage licenses online for the first time Tuesday, found themselves forced to identify as either "groom" or "bride."

"Online marriage license app still not gender neutral... I don't want to be the "bride"! Flip the switch!" Twitter user @jptownley complained.

City Council spokesman Jamie McShane said that updated forms reflecting the new rules will be posted on the City Clerk's website by Tuesday afternoon. The forms appeared to be fixed by 7 p.m. Tuesday.

"We want to do it right and it just takes a few days to do it," Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters at an unrelated press conference in Brooklyn.

Same-sex couples trying to register Tuesday morning encountered forms still reading
Same-sex couples trying to register Tuesday morning encountered forms still reading "bride" and "groom."
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www.nyc.gov/portal/site/cityclerkformsonline

"We will change everything to reflect the passage of a law... it's time has certainly come," he said.

It wasn't immediately clear what the new forms would say.

While couples can now apply, they will not receive their actual licenses until July 25, 30 days after the Marriage Equality Act passed in the state Senate.

Couples must then wait 24 hours before their official ceremonies at City Hall, according to City Clerk Michael McSweeney.