Same-Sex Marriages Mark 'Love History'

John Burczyk and Antonino Puglia walked into the  Clerk's office on the verge of crying and walked out with tears of joy dripping down their cheeks. After almost 35 years of being together, Burczyk and Puglia were a part of "love history” when they were married on Sunday by .

One of almost 15 couples, Burczyk and Puglia live together in Westbury and had a ceremony on a Manhattan ship called “Cloud 9” six years ago, but as Burczyk said, “It didn’t mean anything because it wasn’t legal…Now we got this one, this one means more.”

As Gross shared the words, “It is all about respect, understanding and communication to get through those rough roads, to get through those years when I’m sure you thought this day would never come, this day when you can officially…” Puglia couldn’t help put let out a sob before she could finish her sentence. Gross added the words, “Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be.”

Gross saw an opportunity to be one of the only places to grant licenses and she and her staff jumped at it.

“This is a monumental day," Gross said. "I wanted to commemorate this first possible day and really didn’t know what to expect…its organized chaos. And everyone is happy. It is a day of love and so everybody is walking around here and smiling.”

The front street of the building was blocked off to help with potential protesters.

“There was the possibility that we would have people here not happy with the passage of this law and I’m very proud and honored to serve a Town where we don’t have people outside protesting,” Gross said.

Another smiling couple who got married was Barbara Scarcella and Dr. Carol Adelman. Supreme Court Justice Francis Dana Winslow performed their ceremony in the hallway.

“It is wonderful; we have a place in Cape Cod, Massachusetts and we held off because we were really hoping that New York would pass the law and it finally did,” Scarcella said. “We are Americans also, so we want the federal government to acknowledge it.”

Scarcella and Adelman of Floral Park met on Staten Island 36 years ago, where Scarcella is from. Scarcella described their relationship as “love at first sight” and said, “Could you imagine meeting ‘the one’ at 22-years-old?”

The couple was off to celebrate their newly-official marriage at a luncheon with family and friends at. Furthermore,  in New Hyde Park offered a reception for married couples starting at 6:00 p.m. This event is endorsed by the Progressive Equality Movement and a portion of the suggestion $15 door donation goes to participating organizations and to a couple planning their wedding.

The new marriage application now says bride, groom or spouse instead of just bride and groom and does not require a couple to check off their sex, Gross noted. After midnight Sunday all applications will be gender neutral.

“I think this is one of the most wonderful things that I can do in my job as Town Clerk,” Gross said of being a part of history. “This is a natural right, to love the person and be with the person … It’s just the right to be with the person that makes you happy and that to me is what marriage is.”