A lesbian couple together for more than a decade smiled through tears Tuesday as they became the first same-sex couple to marry in the District of Columbia, on the first day such unions are legal in the nation's capital.

Sinjoyla Townsend and Angelisa Young said they have waited years to marry. The couple, together 12 years, were first in line last week to apply for a marriage license at Washington's marriage bureau.

"You are my friend, my partner, my love," Young, 47, told Townsend, 41. "I will love you today, tomorrow and forever."

After the wedding, those present cheered as the two women embraced and cried.

The new law survived a Supreme Court challenge last week. The measure went into effect last week, but couples had to hold off until Tuesday because of the district's three-day waiting period.

The district joins Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont in allowing same-sex couples to marry.

Mayor Adrian Fenty signed the D.C. measure into law in December, after the city council overwhelming passed it. It then went through a review period, during which Congress had an opportunity to intervene.

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