icon bookmark-bicon bookmarkicon cameraicon checkicon chevron downicon chevron lefticon chevron righticon chevron upicon closeicon v-compressicon downloadicon editicon v-expandicon fbicon fileicon filtericon flag ruicon full chevron downicon full chevron lefticon full chevron righticon full chevron upicon gpicon insicon mailicon moveicon-musicicon mutedicon nomutedicon okicon v-pauseicon v-playicon searchicon shareicon sign inicon sign upicon stepbackicon stepforicon swipe downicon tagicon tagsicon tgicon trashicon twicon vkicon yticon wticon fm
3 Mar, 2010 23:47

Capital gays and lesbians tie the knot

Couples have queued for hours to apply for marriage licenses on the first day same-sex unions became legally recognized in the U.S. capital.

The go-ahead follows a rejection by the US Supreme Court of a last-minute objection in Washington, D.C.

Before today gay and lesbian couples could in theory fill out a marriage license application, but it would not have been honored. But as of today it changed, and their applications have been approved.

A march down the aisle in the capital is now something any gay or lesbian couple can legally pursue. Their marriage licenses are being granted for the first time and over a hundred couples have married already. The event drew many supporters of the legalization of gay marriage, as well as anti-gay marriage Christian groups.

“There are boundaries around love. Love in marriage is restricted to a man and a woman. The marriage is a sacred compact between a male and a female. When you don’t have that present, you don’t have marriage,” said one Christian activist. “What the District of Columbia is doing here today is issuing pieces of paper, and that is really a fiction.”

Today many states, in particular in northeastern New England, allow gay marriage. But almost everywhere else in the US, gay marriage is not recognized.

Another interesting note about what has been happening recently in America is that as more and more states adopt gay marriage, a lot more other states that may not legally recognize gay marriage and would not necessarily allow gay weddings to happen within these states are at least saying: this is not going to happen in our state, but we will recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples that get married in other states and decide to come to our state.

Podcasts
0:00
26:13
0:00
24:57