By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 15, 2009; 9:53 AM

The D.C. Council approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in the District in a final vote Tuesday, capping a debate that has gone on almost all year.

The measure passed 11-2, with members Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) and Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7) the dissenters. The bill will be sent to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), who is expected to sign it before Christmas. The bill will become law this spring if, as expected, it survives a 30-day congressional review period.

"We are on the verge of history," council member David A. Catania (I-At Large), the lead sponsor of the bill, told about 350 same-sex marriage supporters at a pre-vote rally Monday night in Shaw. "For the world to see gays and lesbian couples equal to straight couples in the nation's capital, that is an important message."

Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5), who also addressed the crowd, said the council was poised to send a signal to the nation that "this is a human rights issue for justice and equality."

"I will stand with you until the day I die," Thomas said. Earlier this year, he wasn't sure whether he would vote for the bill. But two weeks ago, he joined 10 of his colleagues to give tentative approval to the same-sex marriage bill by a vote of 11 to 2. An identical vote total is expected Tuesday.

The only suspense in recent days has been about whether the council would consider amendments to try to assuage some of the concerns the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington has raise about the proposal.

Under the bill, church officials are already exempt from having to participate in same-sex wedding ceremonies or celebrations. But if gay couples are allowed marry, church officials worry Catholic Charities would be forced to extend spousal benefits and adoption services to same-sex couples.

Gay rights activists, who hold considerable sway in city government, counter that by opposing parts of the bill, the church is asking the city to sanction discrimination.

As of Monday night, Catania and council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) both said they had been unable to reach an agreement with the church. But Catania and Mendelson, chairman of the committee that oversaw the bill, would not rule out the possibility of a few minor amendments to the bill Tuesday.

Even before the vote, opponents of same-sex marriage were gearing up to try to fight the bill in Congress and the courts.

"The city council's action today is not the final word. The issue is far from over," Bishop Harry Jackson, pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, said in a statement Monday.

Jackson has aligned with Robert King, a longtime Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in Northeast, the Rev. Walter Fauntroy, a former civil rights leader who was a longtime pastor at New Bethel Baptist Church, and several other religious leaders to try to force a referendum to outlaw same-sex marriage.

But at Monday night's rally, gay men and lesbians were already celebrating.

The Rev. Robert M. Hardies, one of more than 200 local religious figures to endorse same-sex marriage, told the crowd they should be proud of what they have accomplished.

"We have united the community around this issue in ways that people said we could not do," said Hardies, senior pastor of All Souls Church, Unitarian, near Mount Pleasant. "And let me tell you, no matter what happens down the road, that is one victory the United States Congress cannot take away from us."