As the race hots up, gay weddings have triggered a bitter battle between liberals and the powerful morality lobby. Paul Harris in New York and Lawrence Donegan in San Francisco report.
Standing beneath the dome of San Francisco's City Hall last week, amid floral bouquets and wide-eyed onlookers, Josephine and Gieseppina made their vows and were married; they have been together for eight years. Josephine works for the electricity company and Gieseppina works in a store. But their union is more than just an act of love. It is also a political statement.
'How come I live in the land of the free, yet am not free to spend the rest of my life in my own country with the woman I love?' said Josephine. 'If Gieseppina were a man, we wouldn't have this difficulty.'
