DC Council Votes To Recognize Same-Sex Couples

WASHINGTON (WUSA) -- The DC City Council unanimously approved on Tuesday a bill that recognizes same sex marriages.

"I think it's good but I don't think it goes far enough," says Sean Welker, a bartender at Logan Tavern in Northwest DC. "People should be able to get married in the District regardless of their gender."

Susan Gibbs at the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington disagrees. "Marriage isn't just a relationship between two people who love each other," says Gibbs. "That's part of it, but it really is their unique ability actually have children together and that does require male-female."

Gibbs says passage of the bill was done without community involvement.

"They're using a backdoor approach to get it through and they're not even giving families in the city a chance to comment," says Gibbs. "It's an amendment tacked on to other legislation."

"It was a unanimous decision which for me is personally very gratifying," states DC Councilman, David Catania, defending the way in which the bill was brought for a vote. "It wasn't so much trying to keep information from the media as much as it was, I wasn't sure it would happen and I didn't want to telegraph that a vote would happen if it did not in fact happen."

This unanimous vote sets the stage for a clash with Congress, which approves the city's laws under Home Rule. The council is expected to take a final vote on the legislation next month.

If the bill stands, Catania plans to move forward yet again.

"The next step will be a measure I've been working on to introduce a full marriage equality measure so that marriages can be officiated in the District," says Catania.