Washington state gays licensed to wed

Hundreds of same-sex couples across Washington state collected licences as a voter-approved law legalising gay marriage took effect.

King County, the state’s biggest, opened the doors to its auditor’s office in Seattle just after midnight yesterday to start distributing marriage licences. But hundreds had lined up hours earlier, with a queue snaking around the building on a chilly December night. By the afternoon, about 450 licences had been issued.