New York's first openly gay congressman is now a married man.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a freshman Democrat elected to New York's 18th Congressional District in 2012, married his longtime partner, Randy Florke, at the Church of St. Mary-in-the-Highlands in Cold Spring, N.Y. on Saturday, with their three children by their side, NBC News reported. The ceremony, officiated by Rev. Shane Scott-Hamblen, was attended by 250 people.
"Even after 22 years together, we're overwhelmed by how blessed we feel to celebrate this special day with our friends and family," Maloney, 47, and Florke, 51, said in a statement, adding that they hope "all families can experience the joys of a lifetime of commitment,"
It was a letter from their youngest daughter, 11-year-old Essie, requesting Santa Claus to allow her fathers to get married because "they are a loving couple," that helped push Maloney and Florke to get engaged on Christmas Day.
Florke, a real estate and design executive in New York City for The Rural Connection, made the marriage proposal to his partner of 22 years. "Randy said if he left it up to me, I might never get around to it,'' Maloney told USA Today in a January interview.
Maloney worked in state and national politics and ran a high-tech start-up before defeating Republican Nan Hayworth in 2012 by just a few percentage points.
After same-sex marriage became legal in New York in 2011, Maloney had said the court ruling gave him and Florke a greater sense of urgency about tying the knot. He is the second sitting member of Congress to legally wed his gay partner while in office. In July 2012, Rep. Barney Frank, the former Democratic representative from Massachusetts, became the first to marry while serving in Congress.
Maloney said he wasn't sure whether his marriage would affect the voters' view of him. "I can tell you that it's not a subject that I approach with the political part of my brain,'' he said. "It's too important. We're talking about my life, and there are things more important to me than Congress. And my family is one of them.''
With Maloney returning back to work on Monday to prepare for Tuesday's primary against former Republican Hayworth in the November general election, his spokeswoman said there would be no honeymoon after the wedding.
The married couple lives at St. Mary-in-the-Highlands, in New York's Hudson Valley, with their three children, Reinel, 24, Daley, 13 and Essie.
