FAIR LAWN

With the church's blessing, and their adopted son frolicking between them, Michael and Jon Holden Galluccio stood together and wished the world a happy Father's Day.

The two gay men from Maywood made headlines last year when New Jersey, ruling in a case they filed, became the first state to allow homosexual couples -- and unmarried heterosexual couples -- to jointly adopt children. On Sunday, they had their 16-year relationship recognized and blessed at the Episcopal Church of the Atonement here, among 125 friends, family members, choir singers, Fair Lawn police officers, a U.S. congressman, and a large media turnout.

"Now that Jon and Michael have given themselves to each other by solemn vows, with the joining of hands and the giving and receiving of rings, I pronounce that they are bound together in this holy union," said the Rev. Kevin P. J. Coffey, who presided at the 90-minute ceremony and worship service.

Although marriage between people of the same gender is not legal anywhere in the United States, the Episcopal church's blessing "is a symbol of the church's recognition that life-giving relationships that bring wholeness are holy," Bishop John Shelby Spong of Newark said in a statement issued at the ceremony.

Michael Galluccio, 36, wore a black three-button suit and yellow shirt; Jon Galluccio, 34, wore a navy-blue double-breasted suit and blue shirt. Both men wore orchids on their lapels, as well as flower leis from a gay couple in Hawaii who are leading the movement to legalize same-sex marriages in that state.

"This is the stuff we only dreamed of. When we first came out, this [the church's blessing] was an option we thought we'd have to give up," Jon Galluccio, who legally assumed his partner's name in April, said at a news conference after the ceremony.

"But we don't have to give anything up because we're gay. We just have to ask louder," he said.

"The message to anyone going through life thinking they're not as good as anyone else, is: Guess what? You are as good," said Michael Galluccio.

The two men, who met as students at Glassboro State College, formalized their relationship with a "commitment ceremony" in 1992.

"In college, we were happy, but we would listen to the song 'There's a Place For Us' and cry," Michael Galluccio said.

Added his partner, "Today, there is a place for us. No more crying."

In December, they won a class-action suit against New Jersey, and adopted their foster son, Adam, 2 1/2, whom they nursed back to health from being a drug-addicted, underweight baby. They also have a foster daughter, a toddler named Madison, whom they plan to adopt but who was not at the ceremony.

The couple said they have power of attorney and living wills naming each other as responsible parties. But as residents of New Jersey, they lack the domestic partnership rights that would grant them the health, dental, and housing benefits that married heterosexual couples have.

Jon Galluccio thanked the New Jersey Gay and Lesbian Coalition for its support.

"We're happy to have them here. Unfortunately, when you're discriminated against, anything you do -- like holding hands in South Carolina -- becomes a political statement," he said.

Although the church had received a few calls earlier in the week from people who objected to the ceremony, there were no security threats Sunday, said Fair Lawn Police Capt. Rodman Marshal, one of a handful of police officers at the ceremony.

Most of the police presence Sunday was to handle traffic and parking, Marshal said. There was a solitary protester, "but this is America," Marshal said.

The protester, Stephen Bauer of West Caldwell, was kept a block from the church. Bauer, 43, a school custodian, stood on a street corner with a sign that read, "There are no gays in heaven. Repent!" on one side, and "This is not a church of God" on the other. Bauer, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said he opposed the gay union on biblical grounds.

One member of the congregation, a woman who sat at the back of the church and would not give her name, said she had "mixed emotions, and I'm not going to tell you about them."

But overall, the atmosphere inside the church was one of well-wishing and tolerance.

"It's a family thing. I'm so happy for the family. We've known each for years," said Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson.

Adolph Galluccio, Michael's father and a prominent Paterson criminal defense attorney, said it took years for him to accept his son's homosexuality, but that he was very proud of him now.

"It was difficult for me, coming from a traditional Italian-American family. I used to worry so much about what people -- friends and family -- would say," the senior Galluccio said.

"But I care about my son. He's a loving, caring person and I respect him. My 91-year-old Aunt Mary Cippolelli, who's here today, said to me, 'You have to get with the program. This is the Nineties,' " said Adolph Galluccio, who was there with his wife, Dot.

Herb Allen, Jon Galluccio's stepfather for the past 14 years, said he also was pleased with the couple.

"Early on, my wife said, 'If you're going to love me, you have to love my son.' I had never thought personally about someone being gay.

"I love and accept Jon. He's a loving father to those two kids," said Allen, of Maywood, who attended with his stepson's mother, Ann Mary.

A police officer, who had to work security at the ceremony but looked forward to going off duty and taking his 4-year-old daughter to the beach for Father's Day, wished them well.

"It's a beautiful day," said police Sgt. Robert Kneer. "Anyone who can give love to a child, God bless them."