Couples are standing inside a District of Columbia courthouse for hours to apply for a marriage license on the day same-sex unions become legal in Washington.
By just before noon Wednesday, about 100 couples had come to the bureau, and about 40 had completed applications. Each couple is leaving the bureau to a round of applause from the crowd.
Because of a mandatory waiting period of three full business days, couples won’t actually be able to marry in the District of Columbia until Tuesday.
Sinjoyla Townsend, 41, and her partner of 12 years, Angelisa Young, 47, claimed the first spot in line just after 6 a.m. They are already domestic partners in the city, so they are converting the partnership into a marriage license.
“It’s like waking up Christmas morning,” Young said. “It’s really like a dream come true.”
Mike and Tobey Slagenweit-Coffman of Arlington, Va., had a civil union in Vermont and a big church wedding in Minnesota, but wanted to get legally married in D.C. Tobey Slagenweit-Coffman said allowing same-sex marriages in the nation’s capital is historic.
“It’s signaling definitely a change in the mood of the country,” he said.
Washington will be the sixth place in the nation where gay marriages can take place. Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont currently issue licenses to same-sex couples.
To deal with the expected crowd Wednesday, the marriage bureau will bring in temporary employees to help, courthouse spokeswoman Leah Gurowitz said.
“Everybody who wants a marriage license is going to get one. It may take a little longer, but they will get their license,” Gurowitz said.
The marriage bureau has changed its license applications so they are gender-neutral, asking for the name of each “spouse” rather than the “bride” and “groom.” And at civil marriage ceremonies to be performed in the courthouse, a booklet for the official performing the marriage now reads, “I now pronounce you legally married” instead of “I now pronounce you man and wife.”
A marriage license application costs $35, and the marriage license $10. Couples who are already registered as domestic partners in the city can convert their registration into a marriage license by paying the $10 fee.
Supporters expected the day to be festive. A District of Columbia councilman who introduced the gay marriage bill planned to hand out vanilla and chocolate cupcakes to the first 200 couples in line.
Terrance Heath, 41, planned to be at the courthouse with his partner, Rick Imirowicz, 43. The two have been together for 10 years and have a 7-year-old and a 2-year-old.
“My husband has always been my husband to me, but having that legal recognition, that legal protection, makes it easier to deal with any number of situations,” said Heath, a writer and blogger. “If you tell people you’re married, you don’t really have to explain much beyond that.”
The couple, who live in Maryland, plan to marry Tuesday.
The gay marriage law was introduced to the 13-member D.C. Council in October and had near-unanimous support from the beginning. The bill passed and D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty signed it in December. But because Washington is a federal district, the law had to undergo a congressional review period that expired Tuesday.
Opponents, however, are still attempting to overturn the bill in court.
