Path To Marriage Equality In D.C. Begins Tuesday

On Top Magazine
July 6, 2009
The path to legalizing the freedom to marry in the District of Columbia begins Tuesday as the city's new same-sex marriage recognition law takes effect. The law recognizes the marriages of gay and lesbian couples performed elsewhere. City Council members approved the new ordinance in a 12 to 1 vote in May, with former Mayor Marion Barry the lone dissenter, and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, a Democrat, signed the bill. Council leaders openly acknowledge their next move is to legalize marriage equality in the District. Because laws passed by the District are subject to a 30-day review period by Congress, before committing to marriage equality, the marriage recognition law was set afloat as a trial balloon. Several Republican congressmen, led by Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, objected to the law, but Democrats refused to join the chorus. Tuesday's start of the law then is a symbolic nod from Congress, a freedom to marry approval, no matter how tenuous. [Link]