Same-sex unions to begin in Vermont

DUXBURY, Vt. (AP) -- Bill Slimback and Bob Sullivan waited 17 years. Now, they're getting ready to tie the knot in a midnight ceremony at a lodge in Vermont.

A new state law making same sex-marriages legal takes effect Tuesday.

Thirty-eight-year old Slimback and 41-year-old Sullivan plan to have the ceremony late Monday at the Moose Meadow Lodge, where they'll stand before a fireplace and take their vows.

Lodge co-owner Greg Trulson, who's a Justice of the Peace, will perform the ceremony and pronounce them married just after midnight.

Slimback says he and Sullivan -- who are from Whitehall, N.Y. -- have long wanted to cement their relationship by marriage. Since they can't legally marry in New York they chose to have their wedding in Vermont.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

APNP-08-31-09 2047EDT