Now gays get to be a miserable as everyone else is.  Just kidding, just kidding. 

The D. C. City Council predictably voted to legalize gay marriage in a 11-2 vote.  Couples should be able to tie the knot as soon as March.  Congress, which has the power over D. C. laws, could reject the action of the city council but the democrat-controlled congress has indicated it is reluctant to do so. 

Gays and gay rights supporters have suffered a series of defeats in recent months.  The latest defeats were in Maine and New York.  According the News and Messenger:

David Catania, who introduced the bill and is one of two openly gay council members, called the bill a “matter of social justice” before the vote.

Two members voted “I do” when their names came up, and when the vote finished a packed chamber erupted into cheers and clapping. The “no” votes included former mayor Marion Barry, now a council member.

If Congress does not reject the bill, the district will join Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts and Vermont in issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. They will be able to wed in New Hampshire starting in January.

Gay marriage supporters have had less success elsewhere recently. Maine voters overturned the state’s same-sex marriage law last month. Earlier this month, the New York state Senate rejected a bill that would have allowed gay couples to marry. And New Jersey’s legislature, which had been working on a same-sex marriage bill, postponed a recent vote when the measure appeared headed for defeat.

Tuesday’s vote in the district came after several months of discussion, including two marathon council hearings at which some 250 witnesses testified.

Opponents included the Archdiocese of Washington, which said it might have to stop providing adoptions and other services because the law would force it to extend benefits to same-sex couples. But most who testified in this overwhelmingly Democratic city were supporters.

Is this a matter of civil rights and social justice?  Does gay marriage or civil union hurt those of us who are not gay?  Are there legal implications to being married that gays have not been able to partake of?  How will Virginia with its defense of marriage amendment react to having a gay marriage neighbor right across the Potomac River?

52 Thoughts to “Gay Marriage Passes in D. C.”

  1. SA, I am trying to figure out what you just said.

    Are you suggesting that homosexuality is caused by hormone imbalances? If that were the case, why wouldn’t people go for a cure by taking a few pills?

    Social peer pressure on gays did not make people less gay. It made them hide in the closet. They were still gay. You just didn’t know about it.

    No one is asking you to accept gays. You are free to dislike them and what they do. However, that isn’t going to stop the political ground swell that is headed our way as far as civil rights for gays.

  2. As an aside, I think someone said I was defending gay behavior or something. Actually, I am not defending or not denouncing gays. I am simply saying that they are the next wave of people who are demanding their civil rights and in particular, to right to wed the person of their choice.

    I have said that I believe this will happen and it will happen through the courts as a civil rights issue. I do not think it will ever happen through referendum or through legislation. Like most civil rights issues, the courts have had to intercede. This will happen mainly because gays are a minority and the majority rarely votes to allow a minority a slice of the pie.

    Frankly, it doesn’t hurt or help me one way or the other, so I am neither an advocate of this change nor the opposition. I am merely observing and predicting future behavior, based on history.

    I hope this clears up my position on this matter.

Comments are closed.