WASHINGTON, March 3 (UPI) -- Gay couples in Washington, D.C., began applying for marriage licenses Wednesday as the district's new same-sex marriage law went into effect, officials said.
About 45 couples were in line as the D.C. Superior Court marriage bureau opened at 8:30 a.m., The Washington Post reported.
The nation's capital is joining five states -- New Hampshire, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts and Vermont -- that allow same-sex marriage.
"I didn't want to get married anywhere else. This is my city standing up for marriage equality," said district resident Rocky Galloway, second in line with his partner of six years, Reggie Stanley.
It is expected to take at least three business days to process applications, so the earliest any same-sex marriages will be performed is Tuesday, March 9, the Post reported.
Mitch Wood, president of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, said the anticipated same-sex marriages were "the fruit of decades of public advocacy and organizing by gay citizens and our numerous allies."
