DC: Local Methodist Church Defies Church Leaders, Will Perform Gay/Lesbian Weddings

A United Methodist congregation in Washington, D.C. has vowed to celebrate same-sex weddings, putting itself at odds with other Christian churches protesting the District of Columbia's new marriage equality law. The pastor and 12 other ordained clergy who attend Dumbarton United Methodist Church in Georgetown said they would conduct such ceremonies after Congress failed to override D.C.'s new law on March 3. The larger United Methodist Church does not permit same-sex weddings, and no other Methodist congregation in Washington has taken the same step.

"As a pastor, I am called to extend care and grace to all people even as Jesus did," said Rev. Mary Kay Totty, pastor at the 238-year-old church. "We celebrate love and loyalty wherever it is found."

Dumbarton church's stand is poles apart from the protests by other Christian churches that same-sex marriages are against biblical teachings. Catholic Charities has announced that it will close its adoption and foster care programs in the District, rather than provide services to gay and lesbian couples. Some Christian ministers have rallied against the marriage equality law.

Full Story from PR Newswire
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DC: Supreme Court Refuses to Block Gay Marriage Law: Licenses Start Today

In an order issued late Tuesday evening by Chief Justice John Roberts, the US Supreme Court refused to block a gay marriage ordinance passed by the District of Columbia's City Council. In a short opinion, Roberts wrote "Without addressing the merits of petitioners' underlying claim, however, I conclude that a stay is not warranted. First, as "a matter of judicial policy" - if not "judicial power" - "it has been the practice of the Court to defer to the decisions of the courts of the District of Columbia on matters of exclusively local concern."

"Second, the Act at issue was adopted by the Council and placed before Congress for the 30-day period of review required by the D. C. Charter," Roberts continued. "A joint resolution of disapproval by Congress would prevent the Act from going into effect, but Congress has chosen not to act."

A Congressional veto could have overruled the Council, but attempts by conservatives were blocked in the House. Conservative groups then went to the Courts, but failed.

Full Story from Chicago Pride
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DC: Gay Marriage Foes Ask Supreme Court for Emergency Injunction

The Associated Press is reporting that foes of a DC gay marriage law set to take effect Wednesday are asking the Supreme Court to halt its start. The challenge was filed with Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday. Opponents say the law should be put up for a vote.

The government of DC approved the law in December, but has been defending gay marriage since it approved a law last spring that recognizes the marriages of gay and lesbian couples from other states.

A last-minute appeal to the District of Columbia Appeals Court, which was rejected Friday, left opponents with few legal options to head off the law from going into effect.

Full Story from On Top Magazine
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Washington DC Expecting Long Lines, Protesters When Gay Marriage Licenses Released Tomorrow

D.C. Superior Court, where couples go to get marriage licenses, is preparing for big crowds as soon as same-sex marriage becomes legal Wednesday. "The one thing that we want people to keep in mind because they want to be part of the initial rush to get a license is that you bring with you your ability to be patient," says D.C. Superior Court Chief Judge Lee F. Satterfield.

Expect long lines and lots of protesters.

On a typical day, the court gets about a dozen applications for marriage licenses. In addition to your patience, Satterfield asks that if you are coming down to be one of the first to apply for a license that you bring your identification and cash or a money order.

Full Story from WTOP.com
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DC: Gay Marriage Licenses Likely Available March 3rd

The projected start date of gay marriages in Washington has slipped by a day. The city now says March 3, a Wednesday, will likely be the first day same-sex couples can apply for a marriage license in the city.

The D.C. City Council passed a law in December that allows the unions, but because the city is under Congress' control the bill doesn't take effect until it has undergone a 30-day Congressional review period. Congress could act to stop the bill from taking effect, though that doesn't appear likely.

Congress wasn't in session on one day, Feb. 12, that district officials thought it would be, lengthening by a day the time until same-sex couples can marry.

Full Story from the Washington Examiner
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DC: Marriage Equality Opponents Appeal Board Decision, Again

Opponents of same-sex marriage in Washington DC appealed a court order today that upheld a DC Board of Elections ruling against holding a referendum on the issue.

Stand4MarriageDC and the Alliance Defense Fund, two conservative groups active in the nation's capital, lodged the appeal on Wednesday. Attorneys for the two organizations placed the appeal in the hopes of allowing the issue of same-sex marriage to be decided by a popular vote.

"We are appealing because the District's marriage redefinition law shouldn't go into effect until voters have the opportunity to vote on a critical matter that affects everyone in the District," senior legal counsel Austin R. Nimocks said in a news release picked up by the Washington Post.

Full Story from Examiner.com
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DC: Marriage Equality Opponents Go to Court For the Fourth Time, Are Denied Again

With Washington, D.C.'s same-sex marriage law expected to take effect on March 3, marriage equality opponents have stepped up their efforts to try to halt the law's implementation by forcing a public referendum. Today, opponents went to court seeking a preliminary injunction, which would have stayed the effective date of the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Act of 2009.

After hearing from both sides, Judge Holeman tentatively denied the motion from the bench, ruling that the court lacked the power "to usurp the legislative process," that opponents did not establish a substantial likelihood of success on the merits and that they would not suffer irreparable harm if the law were to take effect as scheduled.

Judge Holeman's ruling is the latest in legal setbacks for opponents of marriage equality in D.C., where for decades the law has presciently prohibited initiatives and referenda that cause discrimination under the Human Rights Act. Three times now the Board of Elections & Ethics has rejected proposed initiatives and referenda that would invalidate legislation overwhelmingly passed by the Council and signed by the mayor recognizing same-sex marriages. The courts have uniformly rejected opponents' claims that they are being denied a right to vote and have upheld D.C.'s strong anti-discrimination protections.

Full Story from Windy City Media Group
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DC: Poll - 70% in Black Community Want Gay Marriage Vote, 51% Would Vote Against It

Responses to a Washington Post poll of 1,135 adults in the District of Columbia. (Washington Post):

22. On another subject, do you think it should be legal or illegal for gay and lesbian couples to get married? Do you feel that way strongly or somewhat?

--------- Legal ---------
NET Strongly Somewhat
1/28/10 56 42 13
White 83 70 14
Black 37 24 13
-------- Illegal -------- No
NET Somewhat Strongly opinion
1/28/10 35 5 30 9
White 12 4 9 4
Black 51 7 44 12

23. As you may have heard, the D.C. Council passed and the mayor signed legislation to permit
same-sex marriages in the District. Do you think this issue should be put on a city-wide ballot, so District voters could vote yes or no on a referendum on same-sex marriage?

Should be on Should not be on No
city-wide ballot city-wide ballot opinion
1/28/10 59 37 4
White 39 58 3
Black 70 25 6

The disturbing results on Question 22 & Question 23 suggest, by a significant margin, that most of Washington, DC's African-American residents would like to vote on the civil rights of the gay and lesbian community. It may seem ridiculous to divide the population on unscientific, fabricated notions of race, but these results (if accurate) infer that those who self-identify as black continue to be opposed to same-sex marriages. Only 1 in 4 said there should be no referendum. Those who identify as white tended to say no vote was necessary, but nearly 2 in 5 still said there should be a referendum. Neighborhoods in Washington, DC, as most residents will agree, are largely self-segregated along ethnic lines as well as economic ones.

Full Story from Metro Weekly
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DC: Elections Board Rejects Gay Marriage Opponents for a Third Time

Third time was not the charm for opponents of gay marriage in the District of Columbia. On Thursday, their latest effort to delay the expected March 3 start of a gay marriage law also ran aground. In its third ruling on the issue, the Board of Elections and Ethics rejected opponents' latest attempt to place on the ballot an initiative that would ban gay marriage in the District. The board has consistently ruled that such a measure would violate the city's Human Rights Act (HRA) that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation.

“The Referendum seeks to frustrate this effort, and would, if successful, have the effect of authorizing discrimination in contravention of the HRA,” the board said in its 18-page ruling. “Accordingly, it does not present a proper subject for referendum, and may not be accepted by the Board.”

Opponents have appealed the board's previous rulings to the D.C. Superior Court, and are likely to appeal its latest decision. In both cases, however, the court agreed with the board.

Full Story from On Top Magazine
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DC: No Local Donors for Anti Gay Marriage Funding

On Dec. 19, Washington, D.C. officially legalized same-sex marriage. Mayor Adrian Fenty supported the legislation from the beginning, and it received the overwhelming support of the D.C. Council in an 11-2 vote. Congressional Republicans, however, immediately began calling for a referendum on the issue, suggesting that the majority of D.C. residents were actually against same-sex marriage. However, D.C. LGBT blog GLAA Forum reports that all the money funding Rev. Harry Jackson, who led the anti-marriage equality efforts, came from outside of Washington, D.C.:

It turns out that the $199,530.00 funding for his efforts come from only four main sources, all from outside of D.C. according reports filed with the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance. … Jackson’s largest contributor is his own Maryland church based non-profit group, High Impact Leadership Coalition. [...]

The next largest contributor is the Colorado headquartered national group, Focus on the Family. … [T]hey were able to contribute $40,000 to harming gay families in D.C. … National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the national group dedicated to keeping gay people from marrying contributed $32,138.00. … Family Research Council, the D.C. based national gay bashing group, donated $25,000 through it’s 501(c)(4) lobbying organization, Family Research Council –Action.

Full Story from Think Progress
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DC: Utah Republican Introduces Bill to Overturn DC Gay Marriage

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, introduced a bill Wednesday that seeks to overturn a new District of Columbia ordinance allowing gay marriage, but he predicts Democratic leaders will not allow it to come to a vote. "I think they are afraid they will lose," he told the Deseret News.

"I wish it would come up for a vote, because I think traditional marriage would win. But with the Democrats controlling the House, the Senate and the presidency, I can't imagine that this would make it through the process." So, he said, the bill is "more symbolic than it is realistic."

The district council last month passed, and its mayor signed, an ordinance to allow gay marriage. But because the nation's capital is a federal district and not a state, all district ordinances must go through a waiting period of 30 days in session by Congress, during which Congress may vote to reject that ordinance.

Full Story from Deseret News
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DC: Anti Gay Marriage Lawsuit Dismissed

A District of Columbia Superior Court Judge has dismissed a lawsuit aimed at putting marriage equality in the District of Columbia to a vote. In September, a group led by an Anti- Gay Maryland preacher, Bishop Harry Jackson, had asked the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics to approve a ballot measure establishing that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in the District of Columbia.” However, finding that that such a referendum would violate the D.C. Human Rights Act by discriminating against gays and lesbians, the board decided to deny that request and Jackson sued, arguing that the Human Rights Act could not be used to stop citizens from putting ballot initiatives to a vote. Earlier this month Yesterday Thirty-nine Republican legislators, including 37 members of the House and two senators, also filed an amicus brief to Jackson’s lawsuit and were supporting a public vote on the issue. Yesterday, Judge Judith N. Macaluso ruled in favor of a District motion asking the suit be dropped and agreed with Board of Elections and Ethics decision, saying the board’s action were justified because the initiative would in effect authorize and “ostracize a disfavored minority in violation of District of Columbia law.” Full Story from Lez Get Real

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DC: Congress Has 30 Days to Intervene on Gay Marriage Bill

Many have been counting down 30 days from the day that Mayor Fenty signed the DC gay marriage bill until Congress could no longer invalidate it Guess what? The countdown really started yesterday, January 11, 2009. According to the Washington Post, Del. Eleanor Norton announced yesterday that the countdown to legalized same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia began the same day. With everyone paying attention to the Prop 8 trials, I am wondering how many will pick this up. The good news is that Del. Norton said that she has done her homework, and that the “initial work to close the gates on overturning” the bill has been done. Regarding the bill itself, she said “this bill should not be on the Hill at all. Home rule is all or it is nothing. We can’t pick and choose when it intervene.” Full Story from GayVantage: http://www.gayvantage.com/gay-agenda/gay-marriage/real-countdown-to-dc-gay-marriage-really-started-yesterday-8573201113/

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DC: Neighborhood Commissioner Asks Congress to Force Public Vote on Gay Marriage

Bob King is a longtime Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC) from Ward 5 in Washington, DC. He is also a proponent of letting the DC gay marriage issue go to popular vote. Upset that the DC Board of Elections and Ethics ruled twice that the majority cannot vote on the rights of the minority, Bob King sent a letter earlier this month to all 535 members of Congress asking that they force the DC gay marriage issue to popular vote. With the letter he attached a one-page list of bullet points outlining why DC residents should be allowed to vote on gay marriage. His basic argument was that with 416,657 registered voters in Washington, DC, the issue of gay marriage should not be left up to 13 city council members. He feels as though DC (which is not a state and has no voting power in Congress) should have the same rights as the 31 states that have voted to define marriage. Mr. King also feels that many residents are not be fairly represented. ”Three Advisory Neighborhood Commissions have adopted joint resolutions, and over 50 individual ANC Commissioners have already signed on to the People’s Resolution calling for a citizens’ initiative on the definition of marriage in D.C. This represents over 100,000 District residents.” Full Story from Gay Vantage: http://www.gayvantage.com/uncategorized/will-bob-king-kill-gay-marriage-in-dc-48472011/

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DC: Anti Gay Marriage Group Buying Metro Ads

First we learned that the newly passed DC gay marriage law is under attack by Congressman Jason Caffetz. Earlier today we learned about Bob King, who petitioned Congress to allow the issue to go to popular vote. Now we’re hearing that Stand for Marriage DC, a group that opposes same-sex marriage in the nation’s capital has bought ads from the DC metro system. In response, another group, Full Equality Now DC, has demanded the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) remove the ads from metro buses. The group feels that it disrespects and discriminates against the LGBT community, an issue of indecency and in direct violation of WMATA’s own policy against discrimination. Full Story from Gay Vantage: http://www.gayvantage.com/gay-news/anti-gay-marriage-ads-pop-up-on-dc-metro-7562617100/

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DC: How One Black Church Came to Accept Marriage Equality

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon a couple of years ago, we took our places in front of the altar at Covenant Baptist Church, just as we had countless times before in our more than 20 years as partners in ministry. We had been united in holy matrimony ourselves in the same spot where we now stood to unite others. As the couple walked down the aisle, we recalled the previous evening’s rehearsal, when we commended all the participants for their courage and prayed that God would be in our midst at the ceremony. When we pronounced the couple “partners for life,” we felt our prayers had been answered. It was the same feeling we had experienced so many times before when asking for God’s blessing of the union of a man and a woman. Only this time, the union was of a man and a man. Our church is the first and only traditional black church in the District of Columbia to perform same-sex unions. We conducted our first two union ceremonies, one gay and one lesbian, in the summer of 2007. The rapid political developments that followed in our nation and our city have made us optimistic that by the summer of 2010, same-sex nuptials will be not only blessed by churches but also sanctioned by law in the District. Full Story from Delaware Online: http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20091223/OPINION16/91222023/1004/OPINION/-Gay-marriage-in-our-black-church

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DC: District Asks for Dismissal of Gay Marriage Lawsuit

Although gay marriage will soon be taking place in Washington DC (so long as Congress does not block it, which they are not expected to do), opponents of same-sex marriage have filed suit against the District of Columbia over the DC Board of Elections and Ethics decision to not let gay marriage become a ballot issue. One the same day that Mayor Fenty was signing the new gay marriage law, the District filed a motion (found below) to have the lawsuit dismissed. In the 46-page motion, lawyers for the District argue that the DC Board of Elections and Ethics was correct in rejecting the ballot measure in that it violated the DC Human Rights Act by discriminating against GLBT people. The DC Code does not permit initiatives that “authorize discrimination.” Full Story from Gay Vantage: http://www.gayvantage.com/gay-news/dc-gay-marriage-lawsuit-2484010018/

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DC: Gay Marriage to Bring Economic Windfall

Robin Sutliff's flower shop is redolent with the ingredients of a perfect wedding place setting: tall stands of white amaryllis, cala lilies imported from South America, summery clusters of yellow-orange orchids. When she imagines the many same-sex couples likely to tie the knot in the District this spring, though, her mind settles on the humble hyacinth. "It's a pretty flower," said Sutliff, owner of Ultra Violet florist in Georgetown. "It smells good, and it's strong. It represents spring and new birth." On Friday, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) signed legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in the District, a move that is expected to be a financial boon for the city and for vendors such as Sutliff, who make much of their money on weddings but who have struggled during the recession. District officials surmise that the regional economy could reap up to $22 million over the next three years as couples from Washington and elsewhere take advantage of the new law, and the Williams Institute, a think tank at the University of California at Los Angeles, estimates that the infusion could be $52 million. But the betrothed are not lining up quite yet. The law is subject to a 30-day review period by Congress, and opponents have taken their objections to court. Although many expect the bill to pass unhindered this spring, couples say the memory of California's Proposition 8 remains fresh in their minds. The 2008 voter-approved initiative banned same-sex marriage in the state after it had been legalized, a setback to many hopeful couples and a stunning reversal to those who thought gay marriage was on the path to mainstream acceptance. Full Story from the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/19/AR2009121902234.html?wprss=rss_metro

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DC: Mayor Adrian Fenty to Sign Gay Marriage Bill Today

The nation's capital city is expected a major step Friday towards legalizing same-sex marriage. District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty is scheduled to sign a measure that would recognize gay marriages as legal. The city council overwhelming passed the bill on Tuesday, following a similar vote on December 1. According to Fenty's schedule, posted on-line, the mayor will perform the signing at All Souls Church, a Unitarian house of worship in the northwest part of the District that is known for its diversity and for the welcoming of same-sex couples. Following the mayor's signing of the legislation, the measure goes to Congress for a 30-day review period, but it's considered unlikely that the Democratic majority on Capitol Hill will block the bill. By law, Congress has the right to review and overturn laws created by the District's city council. If the measure becomes law, the District would join Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and Iowa in allowing legal same-sex marriages. A law legalizing gay marriage in New Hampshire takes affect on January 1. Full Story from CNN: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/12/18/dc-mayor-to-sign-same-sex-marriage-bill/

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DC: Utah Republican to Lead Charge Against DC Gay Marriage in Congress

Utah Representative Jason Chaffetz has vowed to lead an effort in Congress to block a gay marriage bill approved in the District of Columbia Tuesday. With an 11 to 2 vote, lawmakers approved the gay marriage bill, which is expected to be signed by Mayor Adrian Fenty before Christmas. Under Home Rule, Congress has final say on laws approved in the District. Chaffetz, a freshman representative, told the Salt Lake Tribune that he'll introduce a resolution in January. “It's going to be exceptionally difficult because Democrats have us outnumbered by large amounts,” he said. “Nevertheless, we're going to try.” Full Story from On Top Magazine: http://ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=5009&MediaType=1&Category=26

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