Good news from Washington, DC

The District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics has ruled that if the same-sex marriage bill becomes law, that it will not be put up to a popular vote for repeal.  So if the bill passes -- and chances are good, despite the Catholic Church's threat to withdraw its social services from the city if it does -- there can be no repeat of California or Maine.  That's good news.  And while we're on the topic of the services offered by the church, which includes helping about 1/3 of DC's homeless, this threat is exactly why the notion of church/government partnerships is a bad one.  No religious organization should have the power to use a community's poor as pawns in a church/state power struggle.

Here's the complete release from The Board of Elections and Ethics, which refused the "Marriage Initiative of 2009," a ballot question that would have defined marriage as between one man and one woman:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics today released a memorandum opinion on the “Marriage Initiative of 2009”, which would establish that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in the District of Columbia.” A public hearing on the proposed initiative was held on October 26, 2009.



Under current law, the District recognizes as valid same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. The Board concludes that that Marriage Initiative of 2009 would, if passed, strip same-sex couples who have entered into such marriages of rights afforded to them by that recognition.  Accordingly, the Board orders in its memorandum that the Initiative be received but not accepted under D.C. Code section 1-1001.16(b)(2), which prohibits the Board from accepting an initiative that authorizes discrimination prohibited under the District of Columbia Human Rights Act.



“We have considered all of the testimony presented to the Board and understand the desire to place this question on the ballot,” said Board Chairman Errol R. Arthur. “However, the laws of the District of Columbia preclude us from allowing this initiative to move forward.”