D.C. Council poised to legalize same-sex marriage
By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The D.C. Council will take the first of two scheduled votes Tuesday morning on a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the District.
The debate at the John A. Wilson Building is expected to draw throngs of supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage.
But with 10 of 13 council members sponsoring the bill, its passage is all but certain. Following Tuesday’s vote, the council will take a second vote in two weeks before the proposal goes to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), who has vowed to sign it.
In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s vote, D.C. Council members have been locked in a heated debate with the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington over some of the provisions of the bill.
As drafted, religious organizations would not have to participate in same-sex weddings, but there has been considerable debate about whether they would have to extend the same benefits to their married gay employees as heterosexual couples.
Council members are expected to address church concerns, but are not likely to make major changes to the bill.
One bit of suspense will be how council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 
votes on the bill. In April, Barry was the only council member to vote against the bill legalizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.
Barry, a longtime supporter of gay rights, has also stated his opposition to the bill up for a vote Tuesday. He argues his constituents in heavily African American Ward 8 oppose same-sex marriage
But council members and gay rights activists note Barry can be unpredictable, so it’s possible he could still vote with the expected majority in support of the bill.
