Barring any unexpected success by militant anti-gay activists, same-sex marriages will begin taking place in Washington, D.C., on March 9.
Gay couples can pick up licenses starting March 3 but all couples must wait three business days between obtaining a license and getting married.
The D.C. Council legalized same-sex marriage in an 11-2 vote Dec. 15 and Mayor Adrian Fenty signed the bill Dec. 18. The measure then moved to Congress for a review period of 30 “legislative” days. It did not encounter any opposition there.
Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese called the legalization of gay marriage in the District of Columbia “a huge victory (that) means a great deal coming after marriage-equality losses in New York and Maine.”
D.C. already has a law that recognizes the marriages of same-sex couples who got married elsewhere in the world.
Same-sex marriage also is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont; in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain and Sweden; and in Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego province. It will become legal this month or next in Mexico City, Portugal and, probably, Buenos Aires.
By Rex Wockner
