Marital bliss, same-sex style, has broken out at county clerk offices all over the Bay Area, with eager gay and lesbian couples exchanging vows the moment the offices opened this morning.From Sonoma and San Mateo to San Francisco and Contra Costa, ebullient celebration filled the air as couples young and old - some of whom have been together for decades - fulfilled a nuptial dream many had thought could never be fulfilled. A smattering of protesters here and there tried to dampen the festivities, but they were generally either ignored or shouted down by counterprotesters.
"This is legal and we're equal but the most important thing is that I get to spend the rest of my life with the man I love," said Jeffrey Halpern, 43, who with Hank Donat, 41, was the first to tie the knot in San Francisco.
Donat and Halpern rushed into City Hall the minute the clerk's office opened, giddily running though the ropes set up to control the waiting crowd of about 400 couples, friends, relatives and protesters. Wearing suits and red-rose boutonnieres, they were also the first to pick up a marriage license.
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