DC’s Gay Marriage Law Threatened By Activist House GOP Congressman

Remember how the House was going to focus on jobs, jobs, jobs? Where are the jobs, Mr. Boehner? The GOP-led House has done not one thing to put more Americans back to work. Not a single thing.

But they do have time, evidently, for other national issues. Like gay marriage in D.C., which was signed into law in December, 2009.

The GOP in the House of Representatives want a federal takeover of marriage in D.C., negating the people’s wishes. D.C.’s marriage equality law, having passed two 11-2 votes by the Council of the District of Columbia, survived a thirty-day congressional review period before becoming law.

Via The Hill:

“Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC), told The Hill that he will push for a vote on the controversial issue in the 112th Congress. The RSC has 175 members.

“I think RSC will push for it, and I’m certainly strongly for it. I don’t know if we’ve made a decision if I’ll do it or let another member do it, but I’m 100 percent for it,” Jordan said.

“In the last Congress, Jordan was the lead sponsor on the D.C. Defense of Marriage Act. The bill was introduced after the D.C. City Council and then-Mayor Adrian Fenty indicated they would recognize same-sex marriages.

“Jordan’s measure garnered 53 co-sponsors last year. But it is expected to attract more support in the GOP-led House in 2011.

“Recently, Jordan added his name to a legal brief with other gay-marriage opponents who challenged a decision by the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics denying a ballot initiative banning gay marriage. The board concluded that such a ballot initiative would violate D.C.’s Human Rights Act.”

The Log Cabin Republicans’ head R. Clarke Cooper has weighed in:

“Last November the American people made their priorities perfectly clear.  The primary mission of this Congress is to address trillions of dollars in deficits and out of control government spending, which will not happen if individual members take their eyes off the ball to manufacture controversy.  Just two months ago, Congressman Jordan said to me “Democrats are the party of government; we are the party of principle.”  Today I am calling upon him to remember the core Republican principle that respects local government and states’ rights over interference from federal lawmakers.  The people of the District of Columbia, through their duly elected officials, have chosen to grant all couples the right to marry regardless of their sexual orientation.  As a conservative, I was brought up with the adage that ‘government governs best when it governs least.’  This Congress has important work to do without meddling in local affairs.  Such an overreach sends a mixed message from a Republican party actively trying to shrink the role of government in Americans’ daily lives.”

You can call Rep. Jordan’s DC Office at 202-225-2676, and sign the petition at Change.org.

Read: “What Does Election Of Reince Priebus As GOP Chair Mean For Gay Rights?“