Marriage in DC

I agree with D.C. Council member Jim Graham when he says that we need to move forward on the issue of gay marriage in D.C. I am working with few activists including Lane Hudson, Donald Hitchcock and Paul Yandura to do just that.

From the Washington Post:

“I think we are at the point in the District of Columbia where we need to move forward on the marriage issue,” said D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1). Graham later said that he planned to introduce a bill in the next two years for the city to recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions.

But first, Graham said, he wants Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) to release a legal opinion on whether the District recognizes same-sex marriages officiated in other states. Former D.C. attorney general Robert Spagnoletti, who served in the Anthony A. Williams administration, prepared an opinion, but it was never made public.

We are in a unique situation in D.C. in that Congress essentially has controll over our laws. For example, our current domestic partnership law was held up by Congress for nearly ten years after our city council passed it. We will most likely face a similar battle over marriage. It will be a multi-year battle that will be hard fought, but one that I think is more than worth the effort.

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