Forces on both sides of the marriage equality debate spent several hours huddled in close proximity to one another today, as they waited for Washington, D.C.'s City Council to handle its more mundane business before voting on whether to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. Bishop Harry Jackson, head of the anti-equality group Stand4MarriageDC, was present; seated behind him, two young African American women clasped their hands together as council members announced their votes.
Council member David Catania, the bill's chief sponsor, noted that it had only been two decades since the city overturned laws criminalizing sodomy. "In less than 20 years we've gone from criminals to full equals," Catania said, "and that does speak to the magic of the Constitution." He praised Marion Barry and Yvette Alexander, the two council members who were expected to -- and ultimately did -- vote against the bill, calling Barry a "gracious defender of LGBT rights" despite the former mayor's opposition to marriage equality. Barry, for his part, called his vote "a decision of conscience, a decision of my constituency." Barry added, "It takes courage to fight, but that courage exists on both sides."
Shortly after the D.C. City Council voted 11-2 to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples in the District, the room erupted into cheers and applause. Leaders from each side scrambled into the hallway to field questions from reporters. Bishop Jackson warned that his group would be "bringing their voices to the Hill" in the hopes of persuading a Democratic Congress to overturn the marriage equality bill; Congress has a month to overturn D.C. laws after they've been passed and signed by the mayor. Overturning the law this way would require majorities against the bill in both houses and the signature of the president, which Mike DeBonis points out is an unlikely scenario. But DeBonis also notes that there are other ways Congress could circumvent the law, either by restricting the city's funding or by adding riders to unrelated bills. Still, all that it will take for marriage equality to become law in the District is for Congress to simply do nothing -- something which Congress is generally pretty good at.
Jackson already planned to appeal the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics decision not to allow a referendum on marriage equality in the District. Now, he said his group will file another referendum request to overturn the bill tomorrow, a statement made only moments after the City Council approved the legislation. Attempts by groups opposed to marriage equality to force referendums have so far failed because they run afoul of the District's Human Rights Law, which Jackson called "an illegal construct that will ultimately be overturned."
Pro-equality forces, however, expressed confidence that Jackson's efforts will also come to nothing. "The Bishop and his allies don't have a good track record" with legal challenges, said Rick Rosendall of the D.C.-based Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance."They've overplayed their hand, and they seriously underestimated the people of this city. Bishop Jackson acts like gay people just arrived from another planet."
"We have deep roots in this city," Rosendall said.
-- A. Serwer
