March 9, 2010
Sinjoyla Townsend, left, and Angelisa Young tie the knot in Washington. The Rev. David K. North of College Park's Holy Redeemer Metropolitan Community Church performed the ceremony. Townsend and Young, the first gay couple to apply for a marriage license last week after the District legalized same-sex unions, were among the first to be married.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
March 9, 2010
Sinjoyla Townsend, left, and Angelisa Young celebrate their marriage. The women, who met 13 years ago in graduate school, were married at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters Tuesday.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
March 9, 2010
Sinjoyla Townsend, left, and Angelisa Young walk down the aisle at their wedding ceremony. "I don?t have a political platform," Townsend told a crowd outside the building. "I just wanted to marry Angel."
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
March 9, 2010
Rocky Galloway, left, heads down the aisle with Reggie Stanley at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters in the District.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
March 9, 2010
Rocky Galloway, left, and Reggie Stanley carry their 15-month-old daughters, Malena and Zoe, up the aisle after they and other same-sex couples marry legally for the first time in the District of Columbia.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
March 9, 2010
The Rev. Darlene Garner, left, and the Rev. Lorilyn Candy Holmes get hitched at the Human Rights Campaign offices.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
March 3, 2010
Candy Holmes wipes away a tear shed by partner Darlene Garner after the couple obtained a marriage license at D.C. Superior Court.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
March 3, 2010
Barbara, left, and Carol Bustard-Burnside are among about 100 couples who lined up at D.C. Superior Court to apply for a marriage license.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
March 3, 2010
Gay couples and their supporters gather in front of D.C. Superior Court as it began accepting applications for same-sex marriage licenses.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
March 3, 2010
Rocky Galloway, left, and Reggie Stanley were among about 100 couples applying for marriage licenses. Most days, about a dozen applications are collected.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
March 3, 2010
Cuc Vu, left, and Gwen Migita celebrate their application for a marriage license. The first opportunity for same-sex marriages will be coming Tuesday because processing the paperwork requires three business days.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
March 3, 2010
Sinjoyla Townsend, left, and Angelisa Young speak with reporters. "We will actually be a true family like everyone else," Young said.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
March 3, 2010
Darlene Garner and Candy Holmes have roses as a souvenir of the groundbreaking day for gay couples. Many of those filing applications were from the District, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
March 3, 2010
Jeremy Ames, left, and Taka Ariga were among couples filing applications. Ames wore the logo of the Human Rights Campaign, as did many others, as the District joins five other states in allowing same-sex marriages.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
Same-sex couples, including Gwen Migita, left, and Cuc Vu, gather at D.C. Superior Court to apply for marriage licenses on the first day of their availability in the District.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
Sinjoyla Townsend, left, and Angelisa Young were the first couple in line to apply for a marriage license. Processing the applications will take at least three business days, officials said, which means the earliest that any same-sex marriages will be performed is next Tuesday, March 9.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
Townsend, left, and Young enter the courthouse. There were congratulatory hugs, commemorative pens and cupcakes to mark the moment.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
Phillip Dunham, center left, and Allen Pittinger were also at the courthouse. The District joins five states that allow same-sex marriage.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
Tina Hodges, left, and Rebecca Phares, who is pregnant, had a wedding in church and are applying for a marriage license in advance of their baby's arrival in July.
Michael S. Williamson-The Washington Post
The night before applications became available, same-sex couples waiting to get married applaud as Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) speaks during a celebration at the Rayburn House Office Building. The celebration marked the end of the congressional review period of the District's same-sex marriage law.
Ricky Carioti-The Washington Post
Norton cheers after a performance by the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington during the celebration.
Ricky Carioti-The Washington Post
Liza Hearns, left, and her fiancee Pat Straw, both of Mount Vernon, celebrate the end of the congressional review period of the District's same-sex marriage law. The two women have been engaged for 18 years and will marry this spring.
Ricky Carioti-The Washington Post
Gallery Credits:
Producer, Photo Editor Stephen Cook
Text Editors Doris N. Truong, Jennifer Abella
