Marriage equality bill clears committee, heading toward full Council vote

On Tuesday, the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, chaired by Council Member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), approved marriage equality legislation by a vote of 4 to 1. The lone dissent came from Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7). The bill now proceeds to consideration by the full Council, with a vote expected in the first week of December. With every Council Member except Alexander and Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) having signed on as co-sponsors, the bill is expected to secure Council passage and Mayor Fenty has pledged to sign it.

However, as District residents are well aware, the bill must then undergo a review period of 30 legislative days of Congress before it can become law. That is why all marriage equality supporters must continue to reach out into and beyond their communities, tell their stories, and make the case that marriage is a civil right and should be available to LGBT families as well.

Proposed marriage equality legislation triggers marriage proposal in Council chambers

In the last two weeks, over 250 citizens have testified, overwhelmingly in favor, for the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009 in front of the DC City Council. Amidst emotional proceedings that lasted for several hours over two legislative sessions, one witness, a Mr. Andrew Hertzberg, crystallized the bill's core purpose with his impassioned address to his boyfriend Andy Rollman:

"Andy, you've changed my life. You bring out the best in me. I love you so much. On this day when we talk about the hopes of marriage, I'd like to ask you: Will you marry me?"

Local religious leaders offer support for same-sex marriage bill at DC Council hearing

As DC City Council considers legislation introduced by David Catania (I-At Large) to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples, religious leaders representing multiple faiths in all 8 wards banded together last Friday to voice strong support for the proposed law. The event took place at the historic Asbury United Methodist Church, whose Rev. Louis Shockley proclaimed that "this congregation has always stood on the side of justice."

One of the equality coalition's founding members, the Rev. Christine Y. Wiley of the Covenant Baptist Church, shared her view that "as African Americans who have been discriminated against... we don't have the right to discriminate against anyone else."

Rabbi Jessica Oleon of Temple Sinai applied to the LGBT community the teachings expressed in the Talmud that "a person who does not have a spouse lives without joy, without blessing, without goodness... without wisdom and without moral protection... and they are also without peace. And none of us children of God have the right to deny those things to any other person."

Marriage equality rally signals hardened DC resolve in face of Maine setback

On Wednesday, over a hundred supporters of marriage equality gathered in Dupont circle to rally in the aftermath of Maine's narrow vote to repeal marriage equality at the ballot box. Emotions in the crowd were strong, with the rally's organizers seeking to channel the crowd's anger at the outcome in Maine into a reinforced push to secure marriage equality here in the District of Columbia.

One strikingly out-of-place visitor kept a quiet watch on the rally from a bench nearby. Fresh from bankrolling Maine's Yes on 1 campaign, which blanketed the state with fear-mongering lies that gays are somehow "after your children," Maggie Gallagher, President of the National Organization for Marriage, surveyed the rally from the shadows.

But she did not go unnoticed. During his speech, Michael Crawford of DC for Marriage called her out: "I'm here today to tell you Maggie, I'm sorry, but you cannot stop marriage equality here in the nation's capital."