“There is significant religious support for the legislation before us today. This actually expands religious freedoms.”
— D.C. Councilmember Phil Mendelson
Same-sex marriage won in Washington, D.C. today. Hardly a surprise, and yet, as home to the federal government, the irony is palpable. Two weeks ago, the bill won in an 11 – 2 vote also. This, the required second vote, will send the measure to District Mayor Adrian Fenty, who has said he will sign it. Congress has thirty days to review the measure, titled, “The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009,” but is unlikely to do so. Given its current focus on healthcare reform and the war in Afghanistan, it would be all but inconceivable that a Democratic Congress would step away from the nation’s issues to wade into this debate.
The marriage equality bill win is the culmination of a year-long battle, including a recent ultimatum by the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, which threatened to stop charitable services should the bill pass.
One Washington Post columnist put it this way:
“By trying to play political hardball with the District, no matter how carefully they word their objection to the bill, officials at the Archdiocese of Washington and Catholic Charities are telling our city’s most vulnerable people — homeless families, sick children, low-income mothers — that they are willing to throw them on the table as a bargaining chip.
“What the Church is doing is an uncharitable and cruel maneuver.”
Regardless of the Church’s future moves toward – or against – Â the needy, the bill has passed and will become law.
Last night, hundreds rallied (photos) in a final effort to ensure the bill’s passage.
The nation’s capitol is poised to be the sixth part of the country to offer marriage equality to its citizens. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, and Vermont all offer marriage to same-sex couples. New Hampshire will join that list on January 1, 2010. Additionally, New York recognizes same-sex marriage but does not allow it to be performed.