NYC plans lottery for same-sex weddings

Those gay New Yorkers lucky enough to have found the person they want to marry will need more good fortune if they've planned a Sunday wedding in New York City.

A lottery drawing will be held to accommodate the crush of couples seeking to tie the knot Sunday, the first day same-sex marriage is legal, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday.

Only 764 couples, gay or straight, will be guaranteed access to clerk's offices in the five boroughs, officials said.

"The last thing we want is for couples to wait on line for hours and hours, only to walk away upset on what was supposed to be the happiest day for their lives," Bloomberg said in a statement, calling the computerized lottery "the fairest way."

The city clerk's office has received more than 2,600 online applications from same-sex and straight couples since July 5 for marriage services. Data show 54 percent want to obtain marriage licenses Sunday, while 50 percent want to be married.

"We want to make sure that Sunday is not like a trip to motor vehicles," said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

Couples may enter the lottery by visiting nyc.gov or calling 311. The lottery opened Tuesday and closes Thursday at noon. The winners will be notified Friday.

The 764 marriages are expected to set the record as the most on one day in city history, officials said. The previous high was 621 on Valentine's Day in 2003.

City offices will have extra staffing Sunday, including 60 judges to review requests to waive the 24-hour waiting period normally required by law so that couples may be wed as soon as they get licenses.