At 8:30 a.m. the doors to Washington, D.C.’s superior court swung open and the first 10 same-sex couples were welcomed in to apply for marriage licenses. They will be allowed to get married March 9.

“I wish the entire world could feel the joy that I feel right now,” said Angelisa Young, a 47-year-old D.C. resident upon successfully completing her application for the very first license issued to a same-sex couple in the district. Her partner of 12 years, Sinjoyla Townsend, 41, clutched two single pink roses in her hand, tears rimming her eyes.

By 9:30 a.m. about 65 couples had jumped through enough bureaucratic hoops to receive their licenses. Some LGBT advocates thought they might clear more than 100 by the end of the day.

Since the U.S. Congress has oversight over all laws passed by the D.C. city council, the licensing commenced after a 30-day congressional review period that saw surprisingly little opposition to the law.

GOP representative Jim Jordan of Ohio introduced a bill to define marriage for all legal purposes in the district to consist of the union of one man and one woman, and it garnered just 63 cosponsors.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah  put forward a joint resolution of approval but got only one cosponsor — Representative Jordan.

One Democratic aide who works for the House subcommittee on Federal Work Force, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia, the committee of jurisdiction for the bills, was surprised the measures didn’t rack up more support.

“I didn’t anticipate getting more bills, but I had anticipate that the bills would have generated more cosponsors, which is the pressure point,” said William Miles, staff director of the subcommittee, which is chaired by Rep. Stephen Lynch.