MAYOR OFFICIATES AT MICHIGAN SYMBOLIC WEDDING: From the Associated Press

Nearly a dozen gay and lesbian couples pledged their love and commitment under blue skies Saturday at a symbolic marriage ceremony officiated by the mayor of this Detroit suburb.

Although the ceremony carried no legal weight, the 11 couples who exchanged vows and rings left feeling married.

"I can't stop quivering," said Melvin Rodgers Berta, 41, clutching the ringed hand of his partner of three years, Leroy Berta, 46.

"It's just like the day we met," Leroy Berta added.

A handful of protesters silently lined the sidewalk in front of City Hall, where the couples and Mayor Robert Porter gathered under a blue and pink outdoor banner that proclaimed: "To love, honor and be recognized."

Porter and the Rev. Mark Bidwell, pastor of the majority gay Metropolitan Community Church and co-officiator of the ceremony, called it an important symbol and hoped it would be a catalyst for the legalization of same-sex marriage in Michigan.

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