Results tagged “samesexmarriage”

With a D.C. Council vote on same-sex marriage just over a week away, a compromise proposed to assuage concerns expressed by the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington remains uncertain.

With the D.C. Council's same-sex marriage bill scheduled for a December 1 vote and a petition to put the issue on the ballot denied, opponents of same-sex marriage might finally have to live up to a threat they've been making in recent months: to take the issue to Congress.

The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics today rejected an initiative petition on the issue of legalizing same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia. The petition was filed by an anti-same-sex marriage coalition led by Bishop Harry Jackson.

The same-sex marriage bill currently before the D.C. Council passed its first formal hurdle today, as the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary voted to move the bill on to the full council for debate (see more at D.C. Wire). The committee approved the bill by a 4 to 1 vote; Council member Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7) was the lone dissenter. Before voting, the committee altered the bill's language to remove a provision that would have eliminated domestic partnerships, as well as broaden the religious exemption. With 10 co-sponsors, the bill is expected to pass the full council with no trouble at all. A full council vote is expected on Dec. 1.

The D.C. Council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary may have just spent two long days hearing public testimony on the same-sex marriage bill for no good reason. A draft report coming out of the committee and currently being circulated to the rest of the council argues that marriage equality already exists in the city, and a law legalizing it isn't much more than a formality.

It was obviously pre-planned, but the ongoing D.C. Council hearing on the same-sex marriage bill just had a little awwww moment. D.C. resident and local architect Andy Rollman started it out with his testimony, during which he explained that he's been a happily single gay man all of his life, up until recently.

Legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in the District is going to pass, and no one is more aware of that fact than its opponents. Seeing that they've got little chance of swinging any votes on the D.C. Council, they've instead announced an offensive that will include pushing Congress to stop the legislation from taking effect and using the courts to enforce the federal Defense of Marriage Act on the city.

I only made it through watching about 3 1/2 hours of Monday's D.C. Council hearing on the same-sex marriage bill before I had to call it a night, and the majority of speakers I heard supported the legislation. Gay, straight, and religious leaders alike came forward to share moving personal stories about what it would mean for the longtime committed same-sex couples in their lives to finally be able to marry. But there were plenty of opponents among those who testified as well. Many cited their anger that the bill's passage appeared to be a foregone conclusion, since it already has enough co-signers to clear the full Council. Others referenced deeply held religious beliefs that marriage can only be between one man and one woman. The tone of the evening ranged from reasoned discourse to tears to outright shouting.

The D.C. Council Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary's hearing on the same-sex marriage bill is going on now, and you can watch it live online.

As we wrote this morning, Monday's going to be a long day for members of the D.C. Council's Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, as they hear public testimony on the same-sex marriage bill. The committee has since released the list of witnesses for Monday – all 100 of them.

If you've got a whole lot of free time on Monday, think about heading down to the John A. Wilson Building. On that day, the D.C. Council's Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety is holding a hearing to record public testimony on legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage in the District. The hearing is shaping up to be one of those marathon sessions where Council members struggle to stay awake as they participate in a ritual of representative democracy: letting everyone have their say.

At last, we have the details on the D.C. Council committee hearing on the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009, aka, the same-sex marriage bill that members of the D.C. Council, led by David Catania (I-At large), did indeed introduce this morning.

D.C. Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) has been hospitalized for dehydration, the Post is reporting this morning. Barry did not show up for the Council's Tuesday morning legislative session, at which point word finally came down from Bernadette Tolson, his chief of staff, that the councilman was admitted to Howard University Hospital at 3 a.m. this morning.

Despite offering some lukewarm remarks last week deferring to the D.C. Council on the effort to extend full marriage benefits to same-sex couples in the District of Columbia, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton offered a statement today in support of marriage equality legislation the Council will take up next week. "Although opposition by some in the House already has been announced, I believe Congress will and should defeat opposition to gay marriage rights in the District of Columbia as enacted by the District’s own elected officials," Norton said. "Opposition to civil rights is not new. We should approach the rights of gay couples and families with the same resolution and results as we had for others who have sought their human rights in Congress and in the District."

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.

The D.C. area's most vocal gay marriage opponent, Maryland's Bishop Harry Jackson, spoke to a crowd of social conservatives over the weekend at the annual Values Voter Summit, a convention that serves as a 'merger of mainstream Republican Party rhetoric and the priorities of "Christian right" activists.' Video of Jackson's speech is posted above, courtesy YouTube.

As the battle over gay marriage in the District heats up -- the Washington Blade reports today that D.C. Council member David Catania (I-At Large) may introduce a bill before the end of the month -- a number of politics watchers have warned of political tension and conflict that may ensue.

The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics released the petition documents today of those individuals who filed initiative measure applications for the so-called "Marriage Initiative of 2009." This is the petition put together by a group of D.C. area Baptist ministers, led by the outspoken Bishop Harry Jackson, who are seeking to put the question of whether to legalize same-sex marriage in the District up for a popular vote. Applicants for initiative measures to the BOEE are required to provide proof of D.C. residence, and the papers indicate that Jackson now claims to reside at 1100 First Street SE, Apt. 1310. That's the Onyx on First luxury apartment building, right by the Navy Yard Metro station and not far from Nationals Park.

As expected, Bishop Harry Jackson filed his petition with the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics today to request a ballot initiative on legalizing same-sex marriage in the District. It's a move designed to preempt legislative action from the D.C. Council on the issue later this year (At-large councilmember David Catania has promised to introduce such a bill this fall), with Jackson betting on a redux of California's Prop 8. Perhaps more surprising, however, is that the Archdiocese of Washington has also gotten involved in the movement, although without officially joining Jackson's Stand4MarriageDC coalition. The Post reports that Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl also submitted a letter to the elections board today calling for a referendum. Via Tim Craig:

"It is ironic that at the same time the city is asking for voting representation in the U.S. Congress, its leaders are denying residents the opportunity to participate in the Democratic process for an issue with widespread implications for children and families," Ronald Jackson, executive director of the D.C. Catholic Conference, said in a statement.

Apparently we don't rate the press distribution list of quixotic anti-same-sex marriage obsessive Bishop Harry Jackson, as we had to find out from D.C. Wire today that he has put out a new statement about his intentions of trying to get a gay marriage initiative on the ballot for a second time. This time around, Jackson is reportedly going for the full monty: an initiative that would give District residents the opportunity to vote on whether to legalize same-sex marriage in the District. Previously, the Maryland minister tried to put the question of whether the District should recognize same-sex marriages performed legally elsewhere up for a popular vote, but the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics ruled that he could not. Who wants to bet the board won't see much of a difference between this request and the previous one?

ANC 5A Commissioner Bob King sent out a press release earlier this week encouraging the public, and especially his fellow ANC commissioners, to sign on to a same-sex marriage ballot initiative. The move is an effort to preempt a bill expected from the D.C. Council on the subject later this year. In a statement in favor of a popular vote on marriage equality, King argues that "the issue of same-sex marriage is the most contentious issues of the 21st century, and the people must be heard." King's proposal doesn’t take a position, either for or against, same-sex marriage, but the Washington Blade quotes D.C. for Marriage chair Michael Crawford arguing that King's ballot initiative plan is "an attempt to go around our elected officials in order to attack gay and lesbian families."

As City Desk noted last week, D.C. will recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions starting 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, barring any last-ditch appeal today. That’s when the clock runs out on the 30-day congressional review of the marriage recognition bill passed in May by the D.C. Council and signed by Mayor Fenty. The Board of Elections and Ethics recently rejected an attempt led by Maryland Bishop Harry Jackson to put the bill up for a referendum, a decision upheld by Superior Court Judge Judith Retchin.

Head over to City Desk if you'd like to download a pdf copy of Judge Judith Retchin's Superior Court decision from earlier today, in which she ruled against the request of petitioners Bishop Harry Jackson et al. to put a halt to the D.C. Council's same sex marriage recognition law. Not only did Retchin rule that stopping the clock on the legislation, which is set to take effect next week, was not warranted, she went so far as to rule more broadly that the landmark 1995 Dean v. District decision does not apply to this case. Here's the key passage: "The Court in Dean did not consider whether the government could refuse to recognize the legal right of persons to remain married solely because of their sexual orientation. In fact, the Court in Dean could not have addressed this issue because when Dean was decided in 1995, no state had legalized same-sex marriage." We expect Jackson and his anti-gay marriage crusaders to head straight over to the D.C. Court of Appeals.

We knew to expect it, and now D.C. Wire is reporting that Bishop Harry Jackson, Rev. Walter Fauntroy, and their collective of gay marriage opponents did indeed file papers at D.C. Superior Court this morning to appeal the recent BOEE ruling that a city-wide referendum on same sex marriage recognition would violate the Human Rights Act, and is therefore not allowed. 'In a statement, Fauntroy called the election board's decision, ''an insult to every voter in the District of Columbia and must be legally challenged as we are doing today.''' Unless the court intervenes, the marriage recognition law recently passed by the D.C. Council will become law in July.

The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics ruled today that a District-wide referendum on whether or not the city should recognize same sex marriages performed elsewhere is not allowed, City Desk is reporting. The decision appears to have been based on whether or not such a referendum would violate the Human Rights Act by permitting discrimination based on sexual orientation. "Because the Referendum would authorize discrimination prohibited by the HRA, it is not a proper subject for referendum, and may not be accepted by the Board," is the quote from the ruling.

The Ward 1 Democrats met to take their own temperature on the same-sex marriage issue last night and voted overwhelmingly in favor of marriage equality, in a vote of 137 in favor to 4 against. The outcome isn't a big surprise, considering Ward 1's D.C. Council member, Jim Graham, is one of two gay representatives on the council. The Democratic committees of Wards 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 have also voted in favor of supporting such legislation, while Ward 5 voted against it amid heated debate.

Councilman Jim Graham made the electronic rounds yesterday to tell residents of Ward 1 that a straw poll on same sex marriage measures will occur on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in the Second Floor Conference Room of the Reeves Center. The poll, which will be accompanied by a panel discussion on the issue, probably won't be as contentious as recent official votes in Ward 8 (where it passed with a fair majority) and Ward 5 (where it rather controversially did not). Wards 2 and 4 have also given the thumbs up to equality measures. While we'd be rather surprised if the District's most densely populated ward didn't vote in favor of equality, the turnout and margins -- and any potential disruptions like at the Ward 5 meeting -- will be of particular interest.

Tim Craig is reporting in the WaPo that D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray appears to be feeling rather wishy-washy about the possibility of bringing same-sex marriage legislation before the voters, in the form of a referendum. "I really haven't thought much about this," Gray said, noting that he intends to take the temperature of the other Council members before making up his mind. In the event you, DCist readers, have managed to find the time in your busy lives to think on this issue and would like to share your thoughts with the Chairman, you can contact his office at (202) 724-8032, or email vgray@dccouncil.us.

So reports the Baltimore Sun: as the District considers its own same-sex marriage legislation, our neighbors to the north are currently stuck in limbo -- Maryland law clearly defines marriage as between a man and a woman, but also strictly recognizes marriages performed elsewhere. Recently, both D.C. and New York state have passed similar laws which would recognize same-sex unions performed in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Iowa (as well, ostensibly, as both Vermont and Maine when those states' laws go into effect this fall). Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, a proponent of same-sex marriage, is expected to release an opinion on a recognition law in the coming weeks. Efforts to grant equal marriage rights in the Old Line State have been consistently buried in legislative committee; many activists believe that state lawmakers are unlikely to change course until after the 2010 midterm elections.

When legislation allowing the District to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states came to a first vote before the D.C. Council, it received unanimous support. On its second vote, Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) -- a "moral politician," or so he called himself at the time -- switched sides and voted against it. Now as a battle heats up over a possible referendum on the issue and future legislation that would fully legalize same-sex marriage in the District, some members of the council are starting to waffle on whether to support the cause.