Same-Sex Marriage Measures Heard by D.C. Panels
- Associated Press Oct 26th 2009
WASHINGTON — Opponents of same-sex marriage argued before D.C.’s Board of Elections that they should be able to try to put a measure on the city ballot that would give voters the option of banning same-sex unions.
The Board of Elections began meeting Monday to hear testimony on an initiative that would go on the 2010 ballot. It would ask voters to decide whether they want “only marriage between a man and woman” to be valid in the city.
The two-member board won’t vote Monday on whether the measure meets requirements to go on the ballot. At Monday’s hearing, the board members seemed particularly concerned that the initiative may violate the city’s Human Rights Act, which among other things prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. According to D.C. elections law, a referendum cannot appear on the ballot if it violates the city’s human rights laws.
Earlier this year after Washington officials passed a law to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, the board rejected an effort to hold a referendum on the new law, citing the Human Rights Act.
Lawyers for a group supporting the initiative told the board that it did not violate the 1977 act. The leader of a group trying to get the initiative on the ballot, Bishop Harry Jackson, told the board that the definition of marriage is the “largest public policy issue of our time.”
“We urge you to let the people vote,” said Mr. Jackson, the pastor of a Maryland church.
Approximately 100 people, most of whom support putting an initiative on the ballot, signed up to testify at the hearing.
The board will issue a written opinion with its decision. There is no set timeline for the board’s decision. If the board agrees to let supporters go forward with the initiative, however, they would have 180 days to gather enough signatures to get the initiative on the ballot. The District requires the signatures of 5% of registered voters in order to put the initiative on the ballot.
Also on Monday, a city council committee was set to meet to consider a bill introduced at the beginning of the month that would allow same-sex marriage. If approved by the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, the bill would still need to be approved by the whole city council.
It is expected to easily pass the full council, possibly in December. But if the proposed ban gets on the ballot is and is approved by voters, it would invalidate any law allowing same-sex marriage in Washington. That includes the law currently in effect that recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.
Copyright © 2009 Associated Press
