Should the People Vote on Marriage Equality?
Ever since the D.C. Council voted to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, there has been a growing debate over whether or not the District will proceed one step further and fully legalize the practice. Proponents have been thrilled at the possibility of the city's legislature making the move; opponents have warned of a great social and cultural conflict that could result.
One resolution that has been floated has been to put the question to the District's voters by having a referendum in the 2010 election on whether to allow same-sex marriage in the city. In a posting to themail, DC Watch's widely-read email newsletter, resident K. West warned that only a referendum could head off any future conflicts over the issue:
A referendum is a must to quell the brewing civil war and take the issue out of the hands of politicians. Whether you are for same sex marriage or against it, a referendum in the nation’s capital is a must. The issue goes beyond the votes of a handful of politicians and beyond the carefully, brilliantly, and strategically organized ward political meetings to push the Marriage Equality or same-sex clause.The Examiner's Jonetta Rose Barras, herself a powerful voice in local politics, similarly opined on the matter over the weekend, arguing that using local Democratic committees to vote on the matter (Democrats in wards 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8 have voted; only Ward 5 came out in opposition) bucked public opinion. Marriage equality activists, she stated in an op-ed, "[C]ould take their cause directly to the people. They could push to place an initiative on the ballot in 2010. The results from that effort would provide indisputable evidence of District residents’ position, wouldn’t it?"
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Barras is right, in a sense. Having the people vote on an issue is in theory the best way to establish consensus and closure on it. But after Proposition 8 passed in California in November and was upheld by the California Supreme Court yesterday, it's unlikely that many marriage equality activists will want to submit the question to popular vote. Additionally, they argue, marriage equality is an issue of basic civil rights, and rights of that sort should not be left to the whim of the majority. (Personally, I'm with them. Marriage is a state-recognized legal contract, and limiting it to heterosexual couples is discriminatory.)
Though pressure has been building on members of the D.C. Council, none seem to be backing from their pledge to support the legislation recognizing out-of-state gay marriages once it comes up for a second vote. (Update: Oops. It already came up for a second vote and passed, with only Marion Barry dissenting.) Of course, the current political dynamic might change once the issue becomes whether or not to allow same-sex marriage in the District. We still don't believe it's as divisive an issue as some opponents like to claim -- the polling data they cite dates back to 2006 and doesn't very conclusively prove that the city's majority African-American voters are overwhelmingly lined up against the idea. But if the issue heats up more than it currently has, the voices for a citywide referendum may well grow louder and more insistent.