The homophobes in Chocolate City are clearly trying to trick us with their City Council vote yesterday, 12-1, to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. The measure, if signed by Mayor Adrian Fenty, will go before Congress for approval, meaning Democrats will be forced to take a position on a divisive social issue on which Republicans still believe they have the advantage.
Who was the one holdout? It was former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, representing Ward 8, who said he was going with the "ministers who stand on the moral compass of God." There was a notable exchange between openly gay D.C. council member David Catania and Barry, during which Catania reportedly told Barry that he didn't think of him as a "bigot" but that "your position is bigoted."
I think that's a charitable distinction, but one worth making. I've said this before, but I think it hardly matters whether people have internal prejudices, because everyone does. What matters is whether and how we act on them.
UPDATE: This post was written yesterday, before I had read about the protestors disrupting the Wilson building after the vote. While I'm skeptical that the anti-equality movement will gain enough momentum to overturn the law if ultimately approved or not considered by Congress, clearly there are enough people opposed to equality in D.C. to make trouble, and it's not my intention to suggest otherwise.
-- A. Serwer
