The District Chronicles

Issue date: 11/15/09 Section: Politics

Media Credit: www.dressforsuccess.org Vincent Gray and the D.C. Council's vote to incorporate marriage equality has rattled local clergy members.

They sat in the same hearing room, one close enough to touch the other. However, the beliefs of those who are for same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia and those who are against it were so far apart they might as well have been seated in different states.

Geraldine Washington, an opponent of same-sex marriage and one of 200 people who signed up to testify, called the recent D.C. Council hearing on the subject a "mockery of democracy."

Washington said she understood that the majority of the council has already made up its mind to pass the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009, also known as Bill 18-482.

"Do not invite me to the coronation when the king has already been crowned," Washington said.

In May, the Council voted to recognize the marriages of residents who were married in any of the six states where same-sex marriages are legal. A month later, a referendum on the Civil Marriage Equality Act was denied.

If passed, the amendment would permit same-sex marriage in the District. It would also protect officials of non-profit religious organization from being required to celebrate any marriage if doing so violates his or her rights.

The bill would amend the Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992 and discontinue the registration of new domestic partnerships after Jan. 1, 2011. It would also allow homosexuals to continue their domestic partnerships or convert their partnerships into a marriage without paying additional fees.

The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics hearing on Nov. 2, allowed religious leaders and residents to testify for a referendum on the amendment. It was held on behalf of Stand for Marriage D.C., which is against same-sex marriage.

"The people of Washington, D.C., have been denied their fundamental right to vote on whether to recognize homosexual 'marriages' performed outside of the District," the group maintains on its Web site.

Rev. Anthony Evans, executive director for the D.C. Black Church Initiative, is an opponent of the proposal and said he wants the Board of Elections to allow a vote on the issue.

"There is significant support for the Board of Elections to approve a ballot initiative," Evans said. "If we fail, we will have a movement to impeach the mayor of D.C., Adrian Fenty; D.C. Chairman At-Large Phil Mendelson, and Councilman Kwame Brown."

Continued...

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