The Washington, D.C.,
city council approved legislation 12-1 that would recognize
same-sex marriages legally performed in other states
and countries. If signed by Mayor Adrian Fenty, a
marriage-equality supporter, the issue would then go to
Congress, which has final oversight over the District's
laws.
The single vote against
the bill was cast by former D.C. mayor Marion Barry, now a
council member, who had initially supported the
measure. Barry said he had some "very agonizing and
difficult conversations" about the issue. "I saw
people demonstrating in the streets and I prayed," he
said. "I have been a friend of (the
LGBT) community and I will continue to be a friend. I
don't want this (marriage vote) to be a litmus
test, because if it's a litmus test, it's not a true
friendship." Barry has marched in pro-LGBT parades,
campaigned for LGBT support, and had previously
pledged to vote for same-sex marriage when he was running for
reelection.
Openly gay city council
member David Catania responded, "This is about
acknowledging our families as much as we acknowledge yours. If
this is an issue of morality, I think it is immoral for you to
be my friend on the one hand and on the other say, 'You are
not entitled to the same rights and obligations as I
am.'" Catania then suggested that saying
one supports civil unions or domestic
partnerships was just a way of saying, "I'm
not that big of a bigot." He later apologized for the
comment and clarified that he did not mean council member Barry
was a bigot, but that his position was bigoted.
"I am your
equal," Catania said. "I get up every day
and serve the citizens of this city, just as you, and I deserve
everything that you enjoy. I will not stop until I have that
for every single resident of this city." Catania is one of
two openly gay city council members; Jim Graham is the
other.
Council member Yvette
Alexander, an African-American woman who described
herself as a Christian, noted that the Stonewall Democrats'
D.C. chapter, the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, had
endorsed her based on the totality of her record in
spite of the fact that she does not support same-sex
marriage.
"So when I did not
agree on that one issue, they did not negate all the good works
that I had done. The ministers on the other hand,"
Alexander said, "the ministers have really upset
me to the point that they have questioned my Christianity, they
have questioned my morality." Alexander said some
ministers had threatened to run a Christian against
her in the next election.
Even though Alexander
voted to recognize same-sex marriages performed outside the
district, she added, "I can honestly say I'm still at
odds with the issue of gay marriage in the District of
Columbia -- I still want to learn more about that issue. But I
do know one thing, I do know that everybody is equal
under God."
After the vote was
taken, the packed council chambers emptied into a scene of
mayhem in the hallway outside. People chanted, "Take it to
the polls" and "We need a new council" while TV
cameras swirled among the action. A young
African-American man stared
flatly at the display with seeming
resignation and mumbled to his friend, "This shit breaks
my heart every time I see it."
Click here to follow The Advocate on Twitter.
Page 1 of 1