Photo by bomble

Good morning, Washington. If you why so many well-dressed white guys were aimlessly walking around Woodley Park late this week, it’s because it’s time for CPAC, the annual conservative pow-wow. Yesterday we attended a dating seminar for conservatives and lamented that the Cooch didn’t bring up D.C. rats during a speech. Today and tomorrow should be extra interesting, though — Occupy D.C. protesters have pledged to protest the conservative gathering, leading to wild allegations of potential violence. We’ll be there.

Corporate Contribution Ban Initiative Moves Forward: A proposed ban on corporate contributions to political campaigns in the District is fair game to be put to the voters in the November election, reports the Post. D.C. Attorney General Irv Nathan stated yesterday that the initiative proposed by activists Bryan Weaver and Sylvia Brown would not conflict with the Citizens United Supreme Court case that found that personal political contributions are considered free speech. Weaver and Brown have to gather some 23,000 signatures to get the measure on the ballot; if they succeed and voters side with them in the election, corporate contributions to campaigns and a variety of political committees would be banned.

Same-Sex Marriage Debate in Maryland Kicks Off Today: Gov. Martin O’Malley will kick off the debate over whether or not to legalize same-sex marriage today in the Maryland House, writes the Washington Times. At the same time, a Republican lawmaker from Anne Arundel County is expected to propose a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman. Same-sex marriage made it through the Maryland State Senate last year, but stalled in the House. While O’Malley is putting more muscle behind the fight this year, it still remains unsure if he has the support to move marriage equality a step further than it did last year.

Virginia Closer to Allowing Adoption Agencies to Bar Gay Adoption: The Virginia State Senate voted yesterday on legislation that would allow adoption agencies to deny placements based on religious or moral beliefs, reports WTOP. Proponents of the measure say the “conscience clause” merely protects the rights of private adoption agencies, while opponents say it is simply a cover for the state to stop same-sex couples from starting families. After the District legalized same-sex marriage, local adoption agencies similarly complained that they would have to place children with same-sex families; Catholic Charities, which received money from the city and would have to comply, went as far as shutting down its foster care program.

Briefly Noted: Alexandria paramedic dies after falling from I-395 into Four Mile Run Creek … Former teammates of University of Virginia lacrosse player recall troubled relationship with girlfriend before she was killed … Former Fenty official and D.C. Council candidate to lead D.C. school sports office … WJLA covers polyamorous relationships…hot! … Fake Pepco workers show up in Columbia Heights … No ma’am, that’s not permitted on an airplane … Maryland debates Caylee’s Law.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2011, we discovered that foot photography in Metro is perfectly legal (if not creepy) and debated the merits of Instant Runoff Voting. In 2010, MPD gave its side of the infamous snowball fight arrest and a Post columnist insisted that men are hard-wired to love shoveling snow.