Catania puts gay marriage bill into play
By: Michael Neibauer
Examiner Staff Writer
October 7, 2009
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| (ASSOCIATED PRESS) |
D.C. Councilman David Catania on Tuesday began the District's journey toward legal same-sex marriage with the long-anticipated introduction of legislation that he said balances human rights with religious freedom.
"We're a civil and secular society, and we have to extend equality to all of our residents," said Catania, one of two openly gay council members.
The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act would redefine marriage in D.C. as the "legally recognized union of two people" who are otherwise legally allowed to marry. The bill guarantees the clergy's right to refuse to marry a gay couple.
It was a circus inside and outside the council chambers, as both sides of the contentious gay marriage debate made certain their presence was felt.
But the atmosphere was not nearly as raucous as when the council adopted its gay marriage recognition bill in the spring, perhaps because Catania's measure is expected to sail through the legislative process.
"We don't storm city hall," said Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Washington. "It's not our style."
As for the bill, Gibbs said, "You cannot redefine biology."
Forty states have passed laws barring gay marriage or defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman, Gibbs said. Catania's bill, she added, "would fly in the face of national sentiment."
Sultan Shakir, regional field director with the Human Rights Campaign, said the District has the right to decide for itself.
"There's definitely support in the District for equality," he said. "Today is historic, and it is going to stand."
The bill has nine co-sponsors. Only Harry Thomas, Ward 5, Yvette Alexander, Ward 7, and Marion Barry, Ward 8, declined to sign on. Mayor Adrian Fenty has pledged to sign it.
A public hearing before the council's judiciary committee is expected in late October, and a first reading by the full council in early December.
"As an openly gay member of this council who has gone, in his own life, through so many changes, it is just such an important and historical moment for me," said an emotional Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham.
A challenge might emerge on Capitol Hill, where the bill must undergo a 30-day review before it becomes law. But even congressional conservatives acknowledge that the huge Democratic majority there could impede their efforts.
