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.”