Bloomfield Residents Cheer Gay Marriage

Residents of Bloomfield are welcoming the gay marriage to New Jersey.

In comments on Facebook, Bloomfield Patch readers are saying it’s about time and that they are proud to be New Jersey residents. 

Bloomfield Registrar Michael Fitzpatrick said local same sex couples interested in acquiring licenses had started contacting his office last week, even though Monday was the first day same sex marriages were being legally performed in New Jersey.

While officials across the state presided over New Jersey’s first same-sex marriages as the clocks struck midnight early Monday, Bloomfield offices kept their regular hours.

Today, Gov. Chris Christie dropped his appeal of a court ruling to allow gay marriage in the state.

Despite the early local inquiries, no same sex couples had yet applied for a license from the Bloomfield registrars’ office, Fitzpatrick said.

Bloomfield Mayor Raymond McCarthy said that he would be presiding ovetr a same sex marriage in December. 

"I have been very much on the forefront for gay marriage," McCarthy said in an email. "I was one of the first Mayors to sign on when Frank Vespar-Papaleo was looking for support. I even got a special license in NYC to perform a marriage for two young men who are friends of the family."

Fitzpatrick said the change allowing same sex marriages was a simple matter for administrators to comply with the new law.

“The state changed the form and it’s very simple change,” Fitzpatrick said. “It used to say male and female and now it says applicant A or B. You just have to make sure to use the new form. “