“I now pronounce you legally married.”

These were the long awaited words of almost 150 couples who queued up for the marriage ceremony in Washington, D.C., after same sex marriage was officially recognized in the federal district, months after Mayor Adrian Fenty signed it into a law on December 18, 2009.

District of Columbia mayor Adrian Fenty signs legislation legalizing same sex marriage in Washington, on Friday, Dec. 18, 2009. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Some of the couples even brought their children along to mark the special day.

Despite an attempt  in the Supreme Court to block the bill, same sex marriage was successfully enacted into a law. It was first passed with unanimous support from the 13-member city council, then underwent mandatory congressional review, since Washington is a federal district.

Washington, D.C. is the sixth place in the U.S. to allow same sex marriage, The states of Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire also recognize same sex unions.

With the new law, D.C.’s marriage bureau has taken measures to become gender neutral, such as asking for the name of each spouse rather than the bride and groom, and replacing “I now pronounce you man and wife” with “I now pronounce you legally married.”

The city officials are optimistic that the law will attract 14,000 couples to be married in the capital, that will help create 700 jobs and rake in tax revenues worth $5 million, based on a study done Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.

(based on AP reports)

You might like these too:

1. Mexico City OKs gay marriage, adoptions
2. 28 reasons not to marry, oppose gay marriage
3. Maine Families Denied Protections in Marriage Vote
4. Lesbians to get equal IVF/fertility rights in Scotland
5. IGLHRC, Lambda Legal consults with Nepali gov’t on LGBTI rights protections