Straight Couple Ditches New York To Hold Wedding In Gay-Friendlier Connecticut

New Yorkers Matt Borden and Rachel Henes say they are ditching the Empire State to hold their wedding in Connecticut, a move they are making as a show of solidarity to LGBT New Yorkers who cannot legal wed in their own state. Borden is chief of staff to Assemblymember Deborah Glick, New York's first openly gay state legislator.

They’re hoping to spark a trend, to get more straight couples to marry in the Nutmeg State, or in any other state that affords equal marriage rights to gay couples. “When we were thinking about getting married it was hard not to look around and realize that it was a real privilege that we could,” Borden, 30, said. “It’s an opportunity to get people to think about the issue,” he said. The couple, who live in Clinton Hill, are writing letters to the governors of New York and Connecticut, as well as to key New York assemblymembers, to inform them of their decision, and to point out exactly how much money their marriage will bring to Connecticut, and how much New York will lose. If lots of other straight couples take up the cause, as Borden and Henes hope they will, it could represent a significant drain of dollars from the Empire State. The letter will be signed by the couple, as well as by wedding guests, “like a petition,” said Henes, 32. “Money is not the primary motivation,” Borden said, “nor do I think in the end it’s going to be what sways people, but it’s an important consideration.”

Borden added: "If every straight person decided they were not going to get married in a state where same-sex marriage was illegal, I think there would be a huge shift. We really hope that it catches on."