Gay couples rush to wed under new US state law

Caption: Surrounded by family and friends, Cathy ten Broeke, right, gets her make-up done by Emily J. Koski in the Presidential Suite of the Hotel Minneapolis in Minneapolis on Wednesday, July 31, 2013. Margaret Miles, left, and Cathy ten Broeke will be the first couple to be married by Mayor R.T. Rybak at midnight on Aug. 1, under a new state law legalizing same-sex marriage. (AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Brian Peterson) MANDATORY CREDIT; ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS OUT; MAGS OUT; TWIN CITIES TV OUT

MINNEAPOLIS — Dozens of gay couples are getting married at Minneapolis City Hall as Minnesota becomes the latest U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage.

The law allowed weddings to begin at 12:01 a.m. local time Thursday, and 42 couples were expected to be married by Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and several Hennepin County judges in the hours before dawn.

Midnight weddings were also planned at several other county courthouses around Minnesota, as well as at the Mall of America’s Chapel of Love.

Rhode Island joins Minnesota to make the 12th and 13th states where gay marriage is legal. Weddings weren’t expected in Rhode Island until later Thursday morning.