The first Delaware civil union ceremony at a church in Wilmington, Del. drew a crowd of more than 400 that included local lawmakers.
The law took effect on Jan. 1.
Lawyers Lisa Goodman and Drewry Fennell were the first to have such a ceremony on Sunday. U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Lt. Gov. Matt Denn (D) were among those who attended.
Goodman and Fennell have been partners for 14 years. Goodman is a lawyer who led the advocacy group Equality Delaware's fight for the civil union legislation, and Fennell is head of the state Criminal Justice Council and former director of the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Sen. Coons, read the sermon and Lt. Gov Denn read scripture at the ceremony.
Goodman said that when the congregation gave the couple a standing ovation after the union was pronounced, "I was afraid to turn around because I was afraid I might cry."
Goodman said she and Fennell hoped to spend a long weekend in New York sometime soon, but that both would go back to work on Tuesday.
Delaware joined six other states legalizing same-sex civil unions when the bill was approved and signed into law in 2011. New Jersey’s civil union law was enacted in 2007. Civil unions are not legal in Pa.
Gay couples in Delaware now have the same rights, benefits, and obligations of married couples.
