D.C. recognizes gay marriages elsewhere
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WASHINGTON - A law recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states and countries went into effect yesterday in the nation’s capital, and a D.C. councilman said he plans to follow up with a measure that would allow gay marriage ceremonies in the district.
The bill was approved in a 12-to-1 vote by the D.C. Council in May.
Congress, which has the final say over the city’s laws, had 30 days to review the legislation. Since it took no action, the bill automatically became law.
“I certainly believe that the fact that we got here is a great victory, that we survived the congressional layover period,’’ said D.C. Council member David Catania, who is fine-tuning a bill that would allow gay marriages to be performed in Washington.
For D.C. resident Julie Verratti, 29, the city’s new gay marriage recognition law marks an important transition for same-sex couples.
“It feels good,’’ said Verratti, a law student who married her partner last year in California.
“It’s a step in the right direction.’’
Under the law, gay and lesbian couples married in other jurisdictions are afforded the same benefits and rights as other married people under D.C. law.
The law recognizes legal, same-sex nuptials in other countries as well as an estimated 18,000 such marriages that took place in California before voters there approved a gay marriage ban in November.
