North Carolina voters ban same-sex marriage

Phil Fung (R) and Shawn Klein, life-partners of 18 years, toast with champagne on the observation deck of the Empire State Building after their marriage ceremony on the 61st floor in New York, February, 14, 2012. Lucky couples have been married each year on Valentine Day's on the top of the Empire State Building for nearly two decades but this year for the first time two same sex couples said "I do" at the iconic New York landmark. The sky-high nuptials on Tuesday followed the legalization of gay marriage in June when Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the law making New York the sixth, and most populous U.S. state, to approve gays and lesbians to wed. REUTERS/Andrew Burton