The Washington Post is reporting that the DC City Council has voted to recognize and extend the rights and benefits of marriage to same sex couples married in states where Gay Marriage is legal. The vote was 12-1 with Marion Barry dissenting.
From the story: ”
If Congress does not intervene, council member David A. Catania (I-At Large) has said that he will introduce a separate bill this year to allow same-sex marriages to be performed in the District.
The positioning comes amid uncertainty about whether the same-sex marriage question could eventually land before District voters.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted last month found that 49 percent of voters nationwide support the legalization of same-sex marriage. But among African Americans, 51 percent opposed legalizing same-sex marriage and 42 percent supported it. According to the census, 55 percent of District residents are African American.
Attorney Mark Levine said his analysis of District law found that the same-sex marriage question cannot be put before voters. He noted that local election law forbids a vote on a matter that violates the District’s Human Rights Act. The act states that the government cannot “limit or refuse to provide any facility, service, program, or benefit” to any individual on the basis of sexual orientation.”
Another domino has fallen in favor of equal rights for everyone. How long until California, and the rest of the nation, follow suit?
This is great news. Eventually, and who knows when, there will be enough states with marriage equality laws on their books to finally bring a supreme court case like Brown v Board of Education to finally strike down DOMAs in all remaining states and make marriage available to the LGBT community. It is encouraging that states willing to grant marriage equality are doing so at an accelerating pace.