Court Rejects DC Marriage Referendum

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Court Rejects DC Marriage Referendum

Special Report - February 24, 2010
The District of Columbia will begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as early as March 3, following the end of a Congressional review period for a new law enacted in December 2009 by the D.C. City Council. Bishop Harry Jackson, with the legal support of Stand4MarriageDC and the Alliance Defense Fund, filed suit earlier this year when the D.C. Board of elections rejected their request to put the issue of marriage redefinition on the ballot for the citizens of D.C. to decide. The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics rejected the referendum, arguing that it would violate D.C.’s 1977 Human Rights Act.

On Friday, February 19, D.C. Superior Court Judge Brian Holeman rejected Bishop Harry Jackson’s appeal and his accompanying request for an injunction that would have stopped the law from taking effect until after citizens had voted on the marriage issue. The plaintiffs are expected to appeal to the D.C. Court of Appeals this week. Additionally, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) has introduced legislation to overturn the City Council’s actions in Congress. In the meantime, D.C.’s non-voting Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D–District of Columbia) has begun a public countdown in anticipation of the legalization of same-sex “marriage” on March 3.

The measure has already begun to affect pro-family organizations in the D.C. area. The organization, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., made the decision to close its adoption and foster care services when the city government said the agency was no longer eligible to provide services because it did not allow same-sex couples to adopt.