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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