Gay marriage opponents fought it to the the US Supreme Court, where yesterday conservative Chief Justice John Roberts ruled that the high court would not intervene in local laws. At the same time Roberts pointed out that gay marriage could be legally overturned by a public referendum. (At Right: The Washington Mall, the location where tens of thousands of gay people have demonstrated for gay rights.)

Today gay couples will be lining up for their marriage applications. Due to the required wait period, the first gay marriages services will begin next week.

Washington, DC, joins the ranks of places where gay marriage may be performed in the United States:

• Massachusetts (May 17, 2004),
• Connecticut (October 28, 2008),
• Iowa (April 27, 2009)
• Vermont (Sept. 1, 2009)
• New Hampshire (January 1, 2010)
• The Coquille Tribe in Oregon. (see below)

The Coquille Nation is the only Native American tribe in the US that has legalized gay marriage as long as one of the partners is a tribe member. The tribe numbers less than 600 people. The Federal government recognizes the Coquille tribe as an Independent Nation whose marriage laws cannot be overruled by the State of Oregon where gay marriage is not yet legal.