On Dec. 18, 2009, at All Souls Church northwest, Washington, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty in the company of gay rights supporters signed a bill to legalize gay-marriage in the District. However, Congress has a 30- day window to vote yea or nay on the measure.
Earlier this month, D.C.'s Board of Elections and Ethics denied a measure that would allow voters to ban same-sex marriages in the district, because they claimed it conflicts with a 1977 Human Rights Act, which guards against discrimination. The bill passed 11-2.
A lead opponent of the bill, Bishop Harry Jackson, released a statement to the press shortly after Fenty signed the measure, declaring he would continue to fight the legalization of gay-marriage in the District through Congress and the courts, as The Washington Post reported December 19.
Opponent of Gay-Marriage in the District Petition Congress
Bob King, an ANC Commissioner from Ward 5 was said to have sent all 535 members of Congress a letter to force the council to have the measure placed on the ballot for a citywide vote, according to Sommer Mathis, editor for the DCist, a website about Washington, D.C.
As for the Obama administration and its stance on same-sex marriage, the administration filed court papers earlier this week claiming that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act discriminates against gays, although government lawyers have allegedly taken a stand to defend the act, as a recent CBS article indicates.
The President and his Initiatives to Update 2010 Census
According to an article published by The Wall Street Journal June 2009, President Obama and his administration have already started looking into ways to include same-sex marriages, unions, and partnerships in the 2010 Census data.
Background History and Legal Steps Taken About Same-Sex Marriage in the District of Columbia
On Sept. 21, 1996, the U.S. Congress passed The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) stating, "That no state needs to recognize a marriage between persons of the same-sex, even if the marriage was concluded or recognized in another state. (2) The Federal Government may not recognize same-sex or polygamous marriages for any purpose, even if concluded or recognized by one of the states."
On May 21, 2009, the 111th Congress passed a joint resolution, The Jury and Marriage Amendment Act of 2009 that states, "Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that the Congress disapproves of the action of the District of Columbia Council described as follows: The Jury and Marriage Amendment Act of 2009 (D.C. Act 18-70), approved by the District of Columbia Council on May 6, 2009, and transmitted to Congress pursuant to section 602(c) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act on May 11, 2009. Meaning, the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriages, but delegates the power of authority to individual states to either accept or reject them."
The Home Rule Act is a measure that allow states the entitlement to self-government, without interference from the federal government. However, what remains a key issue in the same-sex marriage debate; the District of Columbia is not considered a state. Therefore, many opponents of same-sex marriage questioned, "Is the D.C. City Council entitled to self-government according to the guidelines established by the federal government and if so, does the City Council have the legal right and/or constitutional right to deny residents living in the District a right to vote on the measure?"
To learn more about the 2010 Census debate over same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia please click on link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124537164093129827.html
To read a related article about the President's views on same-sex marriage please click on link:
http://lesbianlife.about.com/od/lesbianactivism/p/BarackObama.htm
Irene Warren - Irene Warren is a seasoned Political News Analyst at our nation’s Capitol in Washington, D.C. Irene, who is a Michigan native, ...
