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At-Large D.C. Council member David Catania (I) will introduce legislation to extend full marriage rights to same-sex couples in the District of Columbia on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
Catania announced his intention to put forward the long-expected "Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009" at a meeting of almost 200 LGBT activists at the True Reformer building on U Street NW Wednesday night.
"We are going to do it now," Catania told the enthusiastic crowd. "We are going to do it now, not only for ourselves, but for the young people who are now 20 years old, or 16, or 13."
The bill will have nine co-sponsors, Catania said, making its passage at the Council level all but assured. Catania was joined at the meeting by fellow D.C. Council members Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) and Michael A. Brown (I-At Large).
"We pretty much know what the Council is going to do," said Mendelson, who was behind legislation passed earlier this year that extended marriage recognition to same-sex couples who were married legally elsewhere. Mendelson also chairs the Council's judiciary committee, which has jurisdiction over the current bill.
Draft language of the proposal takes pains to exempt religious groups from performing same-sex marriages if it would be in violation of "the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution."
Much of the discussion Wednesday night focused on how best to avoid Congressional intervention in the matter. Permanent laws passed by the D.C. Council and signed by the mayor are subject to a 30-day review period by Congress.
Still pending is a petition from anti-same-sex marriage activist Bishop Harry Jackson to place the issue on a citywide ballot as a referendum. Both Catania and Mendelson said they were unconcerned about the possibility that the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics might change its position from a previous decision which ruled that ballot initiatives that violate the city's Human Rights Act by permitting discrimination based on sexual orientation must not be allowed.
A public hearing on the bill is expected this fall.
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if the democratic house, democratic senate, and democratic president can't keep this bill from being overturned on their watch, then they are truly spineless and incapable of governing.
Agreed. It's time for Democrats to actually grow some balls and act in the interests of those that elected them.
Well, except for those who are more comfortable with having ovaries. But whichever form of gonad they prefer to have, they'd better show some spine for once.
Balls being a generic-inspecific term. In my book Hillary is a chick but she has balls.
As Joan Jett once said, "Women got balls too. They're just higher up, is all."
I'm 110% in support of gay marriage rights, but I hope that this measure fails solely because it is being introduced by that whiny douchebag Catania. Let someone who deserves the legacy introduce the bill. As far as I can tell, Catania has never been a champion of civil rights, just of petty, vindictive politics.
vifl: in 1, 5, or 10 years, no one will remember who introduced this bill. they'll only remember that it passed.
With the impending right-to-carry lawsuit winding its way towards the Supreme Court, I look forward to DC's first gay shotgun wedding. Hopefully, Hillman's Thai cabana boy will finally make him an honest man.
The only way anybody's gonna hitch up with me is by shotgun wedding. So the stars may finally be aligning for me.
At last.
Way to keep your eye on the big picture.
I will withhold judgement on this legislation until I hear from the "politician who is moral" and his aberrant coterie of carpetbagging sycophants, led by the so-called "Bishop" "Harry" Jackson.
And given City Paper's coverage of a certain councilmember's graft-taking, abortion-forcing, misogynist staffer, I look forward to them breaking "Bishop-gate" any day now.
I'm seeing hot, hot roommate-on-bishop action and lots of midget porn.
One dead unjugged rabbit fish later
"We are going to do it now, not only for ourselves, but for the young people who are now 20 years old, or 16, or 13."
So, wait. Catania wants to marry 13-year-olds? He needs to quit hanging around Roman Polanski.
"Bishop""Harry" Jackson is right. Why would any homo want to trade a church marriage and monogomy for all those hot, hot bi-curious cocks? I mean, apart from the tax breaks and healthcare benefits. And don't forget them ladies, y'all. We gotta protect our fine women folk from lesbian bed death. The choice, she's a clear 'un: Jim Graham, slave a the Innarests; Monkeyrotica, servant a the little ghey! Ain't that right, little fella?
[tiny homo]
He ain't lyin'!
When the little ghey says jump, Monkeyrotica says how high? And, ladies'n jettymens, the little ghey has admonished me to grasp the broom a ree-form and sweep this city clean! It's gonna be back to the abortion clinic, Grahamzilla! The Innarests can take care a theyselves!
Love that scene. Fine soundtrack as well.
best part is later when he actually gets run out on a rail. fantastic.
It's a fair cop, but society's to blame.
This is as much an effort to force congress to make a public opinion on gay marriage as it is to get it passed in dc. I think it's a great way to force these politcians who use gay marriage rights as an election ploy and then sidestep the issue when in office to actually "come out" politically. I am looking at you too Obama.
I may be alone in this, but I hope Congress shoots the bill down after Fenty signs it. That way the gay marriage issue can be fast-tracked to the Supreme Court, and they can do to this debate what they did to the same one over inter-racial marriage, end it by saying it's legal. That way we won't be sitting around waiting for each state to fall like dominoes slowly, but they'll all have to accept it at once.