Archive: same-sex marriage
Under God: Religious leaders team up for social issues fight
(Cross-posted from Under God) A highly influential group of conservative Christian leaders are releasing a document today that they have been working on for more than a year, an attempt to unify disparate religious conservatives. Even as political conservatives in the United States are fractured and the Republican Party in...
By Christopher Dean Hopkins | November 20, 2009; 03:44 PM ET | Comments (0)
Same-sex marriage opponents file lawsuit
Bishop Harry Jackson, represented by attorneys from a conservative legal organization, filed suit today against the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics over its refusal to allow an initiative to ban same-sex marriage. Attorneys for the Alliance Defense Fund said the suit was filed today in D.C. Superior Court. On...
By Anne Bartlett | November 18, 2009; 01:16 PM ET | Comments (47)
D.C. Council agrees to vote Dec. 1 on same-sex marriage
The D.C. Council officially agreed today to vote on the bill legalizing same-sex marriage on Dec. 1, clearing the way for the measure to head to Congress for its review around New Year's. Before the council put the bill on its December agenda, council members reiterated they are not likely...
By Anne Bartlett | November 17, 2009; 12:22 PM ET | Comments (14)
Catania goes after law professor on same-sex marriage issue
Council member David A. Catania is taking aim at a Washington & Lee School of Law professor who has taken a leading role in trying to carve out more exemptions in the bill to legalize same-sex marriage. Professor Robin F. Wilson was one of five professors who sent a letter...
By Anne Bartlett | November 12, 2009; 02:38 PM ET | Comments (0)
D.C. council committee approves same-sex marriage bill
A DC Council Committee voted 4 to 1 this afternoon to send a bill legalizing same-sex marriage to the full council for debate. Council member Phil Mendelson, chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and Judiciary, said the legislation was "both simple and monumental." With the committee vote, the full...
By Anne Bartlett | November 10, 2009; 02:02 PM ET | Comments (16)
Committee unveils changes to same-sex bill
A D.C. Council committee will probably approve major changes Tuesday to the bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the District, including a provision that will make it easier for churches to avoid having to participate in gay weddings and receptions. In preparation for the "mark up" hearing before the Committee...
By Gene Fynes | November 9, 2009; 03:39 PM ET | Comments (8)
Local politicos react to Tuesday's election
Political activists in the District are responding to Tuesday's elections that saw the GOP win the governorships in Virginia and New Jersey, while voters in Maine supported a referendum to repeal that state's gay marriage law. Robert Kabel, chairman of the D.C. Republican Committee, said Governors-Elect Robert F. McDonnell of...
By Gene Fynes | November 4, 2009; 11:38 AM ET | Comments (1)
Religious leaders say Washington Post undercounted rally
Several local religious leaders are furious with the Washington Post for reporting that about 150 people attended their rally on Sunday demanding a public vote on whether same-sex marriage should be legalized. The crowd estimate came from a Washington Post reporter who attended the rally. One of the rally organizers,...
By Tim Craig | October 28, 2009; 01:25 PM ET | Comments (15)
Another vote for same-sex marriage
There may be another vote on the D.C. Council in support of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the District. Nine council members are co-sponsoring council member David A. Catania's (I-At Large) same-sex marriage bill. Council members Yvette M. Alexander (D-Ward 7), Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) and Harry Thomas...
By Gene Fynes | October 27, 2009; 11:36 AM ET | Comments (15)
Hundreds plan to testify at same-sex marriage hearing
More than 250 people have signed up to testify for or against a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage in the District, setting the stage for what may be one of the biggest hearings ever conducted by the D.C. Council. So many people have signed up to testify that the hearing,...
By Tim Craig | October 23, 2009; 03:36 PM ET | Comments (8)
Excerpts: Post Reporter Discusses Gay Marriage Bill
Washington Post staff writer Tim Craig was online earlier today to discuss the gay marriage bill to allow same-sex couples to wed in the District, which was introduced by City Council member David Catania (I-At Large) on Tuesday. Read the full transcript here. Excerpts: Washington, D.C.: Why do you think...
By Christopher Dean Hopkins | October 8, 2009; 02:29 PM ET | Comments (0)
Local GOP Leaders Support Same-Sex Marriage
Two leading Republicans leaders in the District announced their support Tuesday for efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in the District. Robert J. Kabel, the chairman of the D.C. Republican Committee, and Patrick Mara, an unsuccessful Republican council nominee last year, both pledged to lobby Republicans on Capitol Hill to stay...
By Anne Bartlett | October 6, 2009; 04:33 PM ET | Comments (1)
SCLC Leader from L.A. Speaks Out for Same-Sex Marriage in D.C.
The Rev. Eric P. Lee, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, will be in the District most of this week to try to drum up support for same-sex marriage within the African-American community. Lee, who is heterosexual, has become a leading black advocate for...
By Anne Bartlett | September 28, 2009; 05:05 PM ET | Comments (6)
