Actress Jane Lynch (currently playing evil cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester in the television show Glee) married her longtime girlfriend, psychiatrist Dr. Lara Embry, over Memorial Day weekend in Massachusetts.

The couple married at the Blue Heron restaurant in the small town of Sunderland in west-central Massachusetts, one of the few states in the country which allows same-sex marriage.

According to reports, 21 guests attended the ceremony on the restaurant’s patio. A dinner and reception followed at the restaurant.

Lynch got engaged to Embry in November. Embry is a practicing psychiatrist in southwestern Florida. Lynch found fame as a comedic actress in films such as “Best in Show” and “Forty-Year-Old Virgin”.

Currently, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington DC all permit same-sex marriages. Several other states recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in the above-listed states. Massachusetts does not have a residency requirement for the issuance of a marriage license. It is not believed that either Lynch or Embry resides in Massachusetts.

The fact that the couple’s marriage is legal in Massachusetts and recognized in some other states does not convey any federal marriage benefits upon them and it does not convey any benefits in most other states.

If the couple lives in California, they will have to register as domestic partners in order to enjoy some of the legal benefits of marriage such as intestate inheritance rights, rights to make health care decisions for an incapacitated spouse and more. If the couple lives in Florida, their marriage is not recognized as legal and there is no domestic partnership registration.

Library Topics: same-sex marriage, states that permit same-sex marriage, states that recognize same-sex marriage, marriage license requirements, marriage benefits, Massachusetts family law, California family law, Florida family law