Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Civil Marriage Equality in DC: Second Hurdle Cleared

I am very proud to be a resident of Washington, DC right now, and I am quite happy with this move by the City Council. I was glad to hear Council member Phil Mendelson remind the City Council that there are a number of religious institutions within the District that support civil marriage equality. Furthermore, Mendelson also reminded the Catholic Church and others that in those places where civil marriage equality has come, little seems to have changed (though I think the Catholic charities in MA elected to stop doing adoptions).

Council member David Catania was magnanimous in his words to Council members Marion Barry and Yvette Alexander, the two members who are against marriage equality. Catania is correct in noting that Barry and Alexander have supported the DC GLBT community in the past, and their votes show that. But they are both on the wrong side of history on this one, and it is that plain.

I really appreciated the words of Council members Harry Thomas, Jr., Kwame Brown, Muriel Bowser and Michael Brown. It is great to hear straight black folks explain with clarity their support for civil marriage equality.

We still have to wait for the 30 day review period in Congress before the law becomes official. And I think that we will get this measure through.

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