This post was submitted by LB

Today the D.C. Council voted in favor of marriage equality. In the first of two votes held at noon today in the John A. Wilson Building, the Council voted 11 – 2 to legalize same-sex marriage.

“What a splendid moment this is for all of us,” said Council member Jim Graham (D – Ward 1). “When one of us is denied a right, we are all denied the right.”

With 10 of the 13 council members sponsoring the bill, a favorable outcome was expected. This is the first step in a long road ahead.  A second vote will come in two week, and then the bill has 10 days to be approved by Mayor Fenty (D), who has pledged to sign it.  The District has limited home rule, meaning Congress has 30 legislative days to reverse any law the Council passes.

“Republicans say it is unlikely they could attract enough Democrats to overturn the law,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

Over 250 citizens testified in favor of the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009. The D.C. Council held two several-hour sessions in early November.

Heated debate from both sides surrounds the bill. The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington threatened to cut social service programs that support residents with adoption, homelessness and health care.

“Since 1991, it has been a long road to get to where we are today,” said Council member Jack Evans (D- Ward 2) “I do hope we can work with the Archdiocese to get to some middle ground,” without compromising the bill.

D.C. Board of Elections rejected Stand4MarriageDC‘s 2010 ballot initiative defining marriage as only between a man and a woman two weeks ago.

“As drafted, religious organizations would not have to participate in same-sex weddings, but there has been considerable debate about whether they would have to extend the same benefits to their married gay employees as heterosexual couples,” according to the Washington Post.

Proponents of marriage, including grassroots organization DC for Marriage, have been fighting for more than two years to gain marriage equality in the District through petitions, rallies and testimonies.

D.C. has the largest percentage of same-sex couples in the nation, where 1.5 percent of all households comprise same-sex couples. This is more than double the percentage of any other state, according to Our Families Count. A favorable vote, could give more than 3,600 couples the ability to marry.

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