WASHINGTON — Both smiles and tears of joy were in plentiful supply earlier this month as the nation’s capital became the latest jurisdiction in the United States to recognize same-sex marriage.

The District of Columbia’s Religious Freedom & Marriage Equality Amendment Act took effect on Wednesday, March 3, according to the DC Agenda, an LGBT media outlet. Couples who receive marriage licenses must wait three business days to wed, so with the weekend, March 9 was the first day for gay marriages in the district.

“Today was like a dream for me,” Angelisa Young said after she wed Sinjoyla Townsend in a March 9 ceremony at the Washington headquarters of the Human Rights Campaign. “I always felt like it would come true. But it’s here now, and it’s really real. We want to thank everyone who made this possible.”

Three couples wed at the special HRC ceremony on March 9. Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty, who signed the marriage legislation into law, spoke out afterward.

“It’s tough to represent a city,” Fenty said to the newlyweds, the DC Agenda reported. “It’s tough to represent a community, and it’s also tough to represent a nation. But the six of you today do that. Whether you realize it or not, whether you like it or not, you represent what this entire country is about.”

Same-sex marriage is now legal under state laws in five states, according to HRC; they include Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire.
Gay couples married in these states are not recognized under federal law.

Photos by Michael Key/DC Agenda