The Post writes today that a Pew Research Center reports has found that marriage rates across the U.S. are hovering at the 50 percent mark, a drop from the 57 percent that took the plunge in 2000. more ›

Whilst perusing the fine content on display at our sister blog in New York over the weekend, this editor couldn't help but notice this post, boasting about The City That Never Sleeps' booming population of people who aren't sporting wedding bands. more ›

Okay, enough snark -- this video of Washingtonian online account executive Matt Hendrickson proposing to his girlfriend after beating Teddy in a footrace is kind of wonderful. more ›

Some people just never learn. Like the outspoken Bishop Harry Jackson -- who, according to Bruce DePuyt, stands "poised to fight" Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley in 2012 over same sex marriage. more ›

A poll released this morning shows that a slight majority of Americans now say they support the legalization of gay marriage -- that's a first. But Maryland's efforts to legalize such marriages fell surprisingly flat last week. What's next for the effort? Getting supporters back on the same page would be a good start. more ›

During yesterday's legislative meeting, D.C. Councilmember Mary Cheh introduced a piece of legislation which would allow notary publics to conduct marriage ceremonies in the District. The bill, which Cheh, along with Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) and David Catania (Ind.-At-Large), previously introduced last year, seems like a pretty common sense thing for the city to do. But not everyone on the Council is on board. more ›

Earlier this month, we highlighted the marriage of Mark Reed and Dante Walkup -- two men who wed in a Dallas, Texas hotel ballroom as D.C.-based official Sheila Alexander-Reid presided via Skype -- as a clever exploit of the jumbled legislation on same-sex unions. But it looks like we (and several other more prominent media outlets) may have jumped the gun a bit. Amanda Hess reports today that the District's marriage bureau has "kicked back" Reed and Walkup's marriage certificate. more ›

Via The Daily What, here's a pretty incredible interpretation of the District of Columbia's same-sex marriage laws. Mark Reed and Dante Walkup wed in Dallas, while an authorized officiant from the District presided over the ceremony...via Skype. more ›

My eyebrows were raised this morning while reading this story in the Examiner, in which Councilmembers Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) and Kwame Brown (D-At-Large) provided their thoughts on whether Michelle Rhee, regardless of the result of the primary, would actually stay in the District after her wedding. more ›

It may not be "D.C. news" in the most rigid sense of the phrase, but we're sure that there will be plenty of people in town who are very excited about this afternoon's big news: a California judge has overturned the state's controversial Proposition 8 amendment that had banned same-sex marriage since 2008. (As a jurisdiction that proudly boasts marriage equality, the District welcomes you back to the club, Cali.) You can read an entire copy of the ruling here; be sure to check in with our friends at SFist and LAist for more coverage. more ›

We mentioned it briefly in this morning's roundup, but several brides-to-be (and probably some people who were just looking for a steal on a wedding gown) lined up in droves outside the Filene's Basement in Friendship Heights this morning for the annual "Running of the Brides." DCist's Elisabeth Grant stopped by the store to take a look at the line -- it was long. No surprise, given that gowns were going for huge discounts of 50 to 90 percent off. more ›

The D.C. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of maintaining the District's existing same-sex marriage legislation this morning. A 5-4 decision was handed down in the city's favor; petitioners had argued that gay marriage should be put to a voter referendum. "We cannot have initiatives on things that would discriminate or violate our human rights," said Councilmember David Catania (Ind.-At-Large) on NewsChannel 8's NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt. "I would expect that the individuals who sued the city will file a suit and try to take this matter to the Supreme Court for an ultimate resolution," Catania added, while also noting that the city has has approved nearly 1,000 marriage licenses per month since same-sex applications started being accepted back in March. more ›

This comes courtesy DC Agenda, which had exclusive access to the courthouse nuptials of Jeremy Moon and Bryan Legaspi earlier this morning. Their marriage, officiated by D.C. Superior Court Judge Brook Hedge, took place at roughly the same time as a religious ceremony joining James Betz and Robert Hawthorne went on outside the courthouse. The two couples marked the first legally recognized same-sex weddings to be performed in the District of Columbia on March 9. more ›

The Post reported earlier that the very first gay couples to get legally wed in the District of Columbia this morning were Jeremy Moon and Bryan Legaspi, a pair of White House staffers, and James Betz and Robert Hawthorne. The two couples appear to have held their marriage ceremonies nearly simultaneously, one inside the courthouse in judges chambers, and the other just outside the building. more ›

DCist photographer Michael Starghill was on hand at the H. Carl Moultrie Courthouse in downtown D.C. this morning, and captured these images as the expectant crowd waited for the first same-sex couples to apply for marriage licenses to emerge. Read more about the morning here. more ›

When same-sex couples line up this week to apply for a marriage license, many observers from outside the District (and even within it) may see the historical event simply as a one-time legislative act spearheaded by a few progressive members of the D.C. Council. While there may be a kernel of truth to that, the history of the fight for marriage equality actually dates back to 1975, and proceeded incrementally, writes activist Rick Rosendall in a must-read analysis of the gay community's biggest win in the District. "We did not just focus on passing the law; we laid the groundwork to sustain the victory," he writes. Given how long the fight took and the multiple avenues taken to achieve victory, including the crucial 1977 passage of the Human Rights Act, it starts making sense why opponents led by Bishop Harry Jackson have so far failed to stop same-sex marriage from becoming a reality -- they were simply outplayed. more ›

Barring some unforeseen development, the last legal hurdle that might have prevented the District's same-sex marriage law from going into effect was removed last week. D.C. Council member David Catania's gay marriage countdown clock reads "2 Days!" as of this morning, and both the city government and the D.C. Superior Court have now released helpful instructions for couples looking to waste no time in getting their applications in. Here's how it'll work: more ›

In a follow-up to the counting confusion over Eleanor Holmes Norton's 30-legislative day countdown until same-sex marriage, City Desk notes that D.C. Council chief counsel Brian Flowers has done some informal counting of his own, and is currently estimating March 2 as the day that same-sex couples might finally be able to legally marry inside the District. Predicting legislative days can be a tricky business, however, considering they can technically last several calendar days. Congress can also easily end up working more or fewer legislative days than are now planned. But for all those engaged couples hoping to be first in line, we'll go ahead and agree that the first week of March is as good a bet as any for when you might want to tell your friends and family to get ready for some nuptials. more ›

It was obviously pre-planned, but the ongoing D.C. Council hearing on the same-sex marriage bill just had a little awwww moment. D.C. resident and local architect Andy Rollman started it out with his testimony, during which he explained that he's been a happily single gay man all of his life, up until recently. more ›

Ever since the D.C. Council voted to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, there has been a growing debate over whether or not the District will proceed one step further and fully legalize the practice. Proponents have been thrilled at the possibility of the city's legislature making the move; opponents have warned of a great social and cultural conflict that could result. more ›

Local LGBT activists and District government insiders told the Washington Blade that same-sex marriages in the District may be approved by the D.C. Council as soon as next April. more ›

Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler is now the first statewide elected official to support same-sex marriage. Gansler made his support known yesterday before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on the proposed same-sex marriage bill. more ›

Towleroad tipped us off to a Baltimore Sun poll that shows a majority of Maryland voters support same-sex unions in some form. Same-sex marriage is currently illegal in Maryland and it was only a week ago that the state defined domestic partnership, which applies to both gay and straight couples. more ›

The AP via Baltimore's WJZ-TV reports the issue of same-sex marriage rights in Maryland will pop up again next week. This time around, it's the state legislature and not the courts who get to rule on the matter. more ›