by Bob Roehr
Marriage equality took another small step forward on July 7 when Washington, D.C. began to recognize the marriages of same sex couples that are performed elsewhere. The D.C. city council expects to enact parallel legislation allowing the conduct of those marriages by the end of this year.
Progress toward marriage equality has been delayed because of the district's unique legal standing. Technically it is a part of the federal government and Congress has the authority to review and approve its laws and budgets.
Conservative members of the House filed a motion to block the marriage recognition bill but it went nowhere during the 30 legislative days that Congress had to act.
The difficulty of getting Congress to act quickly is why social conservatives have adopted another tactic to impose their agenda upon residents of the city: They attach amendments to the D.C. budget prohibiting it from using any funds to implement policies they oppose. In the past they have used that tactic to block a domestic partners registry, medical marijuana and needle exchange programs.
The marriage bill also survived an effort by some local ministers to put the law up for referendum, and when that failed, a legal challenge to get the issue on the ballot.
The board of elections had ruled that a referendum on the marriage question would be a violation of the city's Human Rights Act, the de facto constitution for the district.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith E. Retchin agreed in a June 30 decision that denied an injunction to prevent the marriage recognition law from going into effect.
The city council passed the marriage bill on May 5 by a vote of 12 to 1. The sole nay came from Marion Barry, an early supporter of gay rights. LGBT support proved crucial in his first election as mayor in 1978. Barry subsequently served time in federal prison for use of crack cocaine and upon release, won election to the city council.
Barry currently is on probation for failure to pay federal income taxes, and just this last weekend the 73 year-old politician was arrested for stalking a 40-year-old female. That has degenerated into a vicious series of he said/she said exchanges.
Bishop Harry Jackson is the minion of the religious right who has led the coalition of local ministers opposed to gay marriage. But he also appears to have played fast and loose with the law.
Jackson leads a large church in the Maryland suburbs. In the referendum petition, which can only be submitted by a registered voter, he claimed to be a resident of the District of Columbia. The address is a one-bedroom condominium owned by another man. Jackson and his wife own a four acre spread much closer to the church.
Residents of the condominium cannot recall ever having seen Jackson in the building. The board of elections is investigating.
