Same-sex couples tie the knot in Washington

At least a dozen couples tied the knot in Washington DC today on the first day same-sex ceremonies were legally allowed in the city.

The district became the sixth place in the US where gay couples can legally get married, joining the states of Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Courthouse spokeswoman Leah Gurowitz says 42 couples picked up licences from the marriage bureau on Tuesday, and 12 returned them signed with that date, indicating they were married. Couples have 10 days to return their licence after getting married, so more couples are likely to have been hitched on the first day.

About 150 couples were eligible to pick up marriage licences after applying last week. Many of them stood in line for hours on March 3 at the marriage bureau of Moultrie Courthouse. Like all couples, they had to wait three business days for their licences to be processed.

Rebecca and Delia Taylor picked up their licence on Tuesday morning and a minister friend immediately married them outside the courthouse. The couple said they exchanged rings long ago and considered themselves married.

“We’ve referred to each other as wives,” Rebecca Taylor said. “It’s just a legal document, so if anything happens to one of us, we have rights.”

In the morning, three couples married at the office of the Human Rights Campaign, which does advocacy work on gay, lesbian and transgender issues.

The Rev Darlene Garner married the Rev Candy Holmes; Reggie Stanley and Rocky Galloway married and then carried their 16-month-old twin daughters down the aisle; and Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend hugged and smiled after being declared “partners in life this day and for always”.

A large number of couples – many who had held previous ceremonies – plan to marry at the city’s courthouse.

Normally, the courthouse hosts four to six weddings a day, but over the next few weeks officials are expecting 10 to 12 per day because of the demand for same-sex ceremonies.