By Keith L. Alexander and Ann E. Marimow
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, March 3, 2010; 2:21 PM

Sitting at a desk in the marriage bureau of the D.C. Superior Court on Wednesday morning, Angelisa Young's eyes filled with so many tears, she eventually buried her face in her fiancee's chest.

Within 30 minutes and with a final keystroke, Young and her partner, Sinjoyla Townsend, who met 13 years ago in a constitutional law class at the University of the District of Columbia, became the first same-sex couple to apply to be married in the District, as the city officially joined five states in allowing gay marriage.

"I'm just so happy. We're whole now. We will actually be a true family like everyone else," Young, 47, said as Townsend, 41, used her thumb to wipe away her soon-to-be wife's tears. After the couple rose from the desk, other couples in line behind them broke into applause and cheers.

The two women left their Southeast Washington home two hours before the bureau opened, standing in line in a light cold rain for about an hour before they, along with some 20 other couples mostly dressed in jeans, jackets and sweaters, were allowed inside the courthouse. The number of applicants grew slowly throughout the morning. By midafternoon, 124 couples had filed to be married, far surpassing the dozen applications the bureau typically collects on a single day.

The couples won't be able to marry until Tuesday at the earliest since it takes three business days for the applications to be processed. Young and Townsend plan to marry that day in a ceremony at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters with friends and family in attendance.

Many of the couples wore HRC buttons on their lapels; most were from the District, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, and the line appeared to be made up of more women than men. Some couples brought their children or spoke of the importance to their sons and daughters.

"It's a great source of pride for her and deep down, a source of relief and stability," said Silver Spring resident Deborah Weiner of her 15-year-old daughter as she stood with her partner of 24 years, Janne Harrelson.

There were congratulatory hugs, commemorative pens and chocolate cupcakes to mark the historic moment. But it was also a somewhat-subdued scene of quiet anticipation as applicants drank coffee, checked their BlackBerrys and prepared to head to work after filing their forms and paying $45 in fees.

Court officials had called extra security officers to monitor the halls for protesters. But the celebration largely overshadowed a group of four opponents from a church in Kansas who gathered outside the courthouse, chanting and carrying signs in protest, one of which read: "Mourn for your sins."

There were also local religious leaders in the crowd, who showed up to demonstrate their support for same-sex marriage, and dozens of college students, who cheered as couples emerged hand in hand from the courthouse. Representatives from the Hyatt Regency handed out roses and offered discounts on catering and accommodations for same-sex weddings held before the end of the year.

Absent from the event was Bishop Harry Jackson, who has been one of the leading voices opposed to the District's new law. Jackson, pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, has tried unsuccessfully to block the measure from taking effect by seeking a public vote on same-sex marriage.

Jackson said he would continue to press his case in court to "let the people vote."