WASHINGTON — A Washington lawyer and his male businessman lover filed a potentially landmark court case today trying to become the first homosexuals to get married legally in the United States.

After being spurned by the local marriage bureau a week ago when they sought a marriage license, lawyer Craig Dean, 27, and Patrick Gill, 23, a corporate manager, filed a law suit seeking to force issuance of a license.

Holding hands outside the Superior Courthouse where they filed the lawsuit asking $1.25 million in damages from the city government, they told a news conference that they want the same marriage rights as heterosexual couples.

Marriage experts said there are no legally sanctioned marriages between males or females in the United States, where in recent years many homosexual couples have gone through symbolic "marriage" ceremonies conducted by church officials but without the legally binding license.