D.C. marriage bureau preparing for crush of same-sex couples

[Communist]

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D.C. marriage bureau preparing for crush of same-sex couples (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/01/AR2010030102479.html?hpid=topnews)

By Keith L. Alexander
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 2, 2010

D.C. Superior Court officials are preparing for what they expect to be a flood of same-sex couples descending on the courthouse Wednesday to apply for marriage licenses.

Wednesday is the first day that same-sex couples in the District can apply for licenses in the marriage office, in Room 4485.

"We're anticipating a lot of excited residents from the District and suburbs coming down to the court to apply, and we want to make this as smooth an experience as possible," said Lee F. Satterfield, the court's chief judge.

To expedite the process, Satterfield said, couples should bring, in addition to their "patience," completed applications, which can be downloaded from the court's Web site. Couples should also have $35 for their application and $10 for the license (cash or money order).

The application fee is waived for couples who are registered in the District as domestic partners. Those couples should bring their proof of registration and the $10 license fee.

Satterfield said he expects the marriage bureau to receive far more than the usual 10 marriage applications completed each day. The office has hired temporary employees to help staff the bureau. Satterfield has also arranged to bring in additional workers from other areas in the courthouse if needed.

"We want this court to serve the community and be in a position to add to the joy and excitement we expect to see in the couples who come to the court," he said.

The court has also had to redo its traditional applications and brochures. Gone is the language that asked for the name of "bride" and "groom." Instead, the applications ask for the name of the "spouse."

Also tweaked: the final pronouncement of "husband and wife." Now judges will proclaim, "I now pronounce you legally married," unless the marrying couple suggests something different.

It takes three business days for the applications to be processed, so the soonest the couples will be able to wed is March 9.

Court officials are also expecting protests by groups opposed to same-sex marriage.

[Communist]

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Gay Marriage Is Legal in U.S. Capital (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/us/04marriage.html?hpw)

by Ian Urbina
New York Times
March 3, 2010


WASHINGTON - It was cold and drizzling outside the City
Courthouse just after 6 a.m. on Wednesday, but no one
seemed to mind among the same-sex couples waiting for
the chance to apply for a marriage license.

"This is a dream come true," said Sinjoyla Townsend,
41, as she smiled ear to ear and held up her ticket
indicating she was first in line with her partner of 12
years, Angelisa Young, 47. "We wanted it so bad."

Gay rights advocates hailed the day as a milestone for
equal rights and a symbolic victory as same-sex
marriage became legal in the nation's capital.

Washington is now the sixth place in the nation where
same-sex marriages can take place. Connecticut, Iowa,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont also issue
marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Despite failing in court, opponents of the law vowed to
fight another day.

The law survived Congressional attempts to block it,
and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Tuesday
rejected a request from opponents of same-sex marriage
to have the United States Supreme Court delay it.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty signed the measure into law in
December, but because the District of Columbia is not a
state, the law had to undergo Congressional review,
which ended Tuesday.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington on
Tuesday limited employee health care benefits to avoid
coverage of same-sex couples. It was the second time
Catholic Charities changed its rules to protest same-
sex marriage, having earlier ended its foster care
program.

The new law was already having regional implications.

Maryland's attorney general, Douglas F. Gansler, issued
a legal opinion last week concluding that Maryland
should immediately recognize same-sex marriages
performed elsewhere.

Mr. Gansler's move is expected to draw legal and
legislative challenges, but for Terrance Heath of
Montgomery County, Md., it was the turning point that
persuaded him to get married.

"We realized that we can finally get many of the
benefits and protections that other couples take for
granted," said Mr. Heath, 41, a blogger who lives with
his partner, Rick Imirowicz, 43, and their two adopted
sons.

"Before that attorney general decision we could have
the legal documents, like wills and medical power of
attorney," Mr. Heath said. "But there was no guarantee
that those documents would be recognized."

He said that he and Mr. Imirowicz had worried about
what might happen to any inheritance meant for their
sons, Parker, 7, and Dylan, 2. "Marriage gives us peace
of mind," Mr. Heath said. "It gives my family security
that we deserve."

At the city's Marriage Bureau inside the Moultrie
Courthouse, just blocks from the Capitol, the mood was
giddy as couples hugged and talked about a day they
never thought would arrive.

"I became a naturalized U.S. citizen in the mid-'90s,"
said Cuc Vu, a native of Vietnam who was third in line
with her partner of 20 years, Gwen Migita. "But this is
really the first time that I feel like I have the full
rights and benefits of citizenship."

Court officials explained that the Marriage Bureau had
changed its license applications: They ask for the name
of each spouse rather than the bride and groom.
Officials who perform the weddings read, "I now
pronounce you legally married."

On a typical day the office processes 10 licenses,
court officials said. By late Wednesday afternoon, more
than 140 couples had filed to be married, the mayor's
office said.

Because of a mandatory waiting period, couples will not
be able to marry in the city until Tuesday.

City officials say the measure will also provide a
financial boost to the local economy. A study by the
Williams Institute at the University of California, Los
Angeles, predicted that more than 14,000 same-sex
marriages would occur in the city over the next three
years, which would bring in $5 million in new tax
revenue and create 700 jobs.

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