Jonathan Paul Ganucheau kisses his bride, Denise Buckbinder Ganucheau, in a wedding ceremony in Washington, D.C. It was part of a May 5 protest against the District of Columbia's decision to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
(Jacquelyn Martin/AP/File)Photos (1 of 1)
In gay-marriage battle, D.C. shapes up as next big prize
As of Tuesday, Washington gives same-sex spouses the same rights as heterosexual couples. A full legalization of gay marriage could follow, some say.
By Michael B. Farrell | Staff writer/ July 7, 2009 edition
Washington began recognizing gay marriages performed in other states Tuesday – a move that is being called a potential first step toward allowing same-sex couples to wed in the nation’s capital.
The district’s measure stops short of other laws in states such as Iowa and Vermont, which allow for same-sex wedding ceremonies. But it adds to their momentum.
Moreover, Washington would be a unique prize in the battle over gay marriage. Not only does it bring the issue to where the nation’s lawmakers live – making it part of the city’s culture – but it also marks gay marriage’s first foray into a predominately black community.
Washington’s city council passed the law to give married same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples by a 12-to-1 margin in May – a vote that supporters hail as significant.
“Nationally, anti-gay rights activists have had a great deal of success in encouraging black voters to oppose gay rights, partially because [gay rights] are seen – incorrectly – as a ‘white issue,’” writes Adam Serwer on the website of American Prospect, a liberal magazine.
“But in Washington, D.C., the diverse composition of the marriage-equality movement means that marriage-equality activists don’t have to ‘reach out’ to the black community, because they’re already part of it,” he adds.
But black leaders have said that the 12-to-1 vote is not reflective of the community at large. In a city where 56 percent of residents are African-American, there is little chance a gay-marriage law would be approved if put to voters, says Derek McCoy, a pastor at Hope Christian Church in suburban Washington.
He says the law is yet another example of a legislative branch “pulling a fast one on the constituents.”
A group of black ministers filed a lawsuit in an effort to stall the bill until a referendum could put the question to Washington voters. A judge dismissed the suit.
Black ministers have led much of the opposition to the law, rallying the city’s black churches as well as the broader African-American community. Surveys have shown that a majority of blacks oppose gay marriage. Some 70 percent of blacks in California voted in favor of Proposition 8, the ballot measure that bans same-sex marriages.
Mr. McCoy says he is “continuing to push a battle on the issue.” But he agrees with proponents of same-sex marriage on at least one thing: “I do believe [recognizing gay marriage in Washington] puts it on a national scale, and at least brings that level of attention to it.”
For gay-marriage advocates, that presents them with an ideal stage to show the country – and especially lawmakers from around the nation – that legalizing gay marriage is no threat to traditional marriage values. The ultimate goal: revise or overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, which bans federal recognition of gay marriages.
For those opposed to legalizing same-sex marriage, the capital is an equally vital piece to stop the spread of gay marriage and prevent it from becoming a federal issue.
“Washington, D.C., is symbolically a really important place for a marriage-equality win,” says Molly McKay of Marriage Equality USA, a leading same-sex marriage advocacy group. “I think that it is really important that that happens around the social environment where are elected officials are located.”
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Comments
2. Steve in MD | 07.09.09
It’s about time our gay citizens had the same legal rights as our str8 citizens. The anti-gay rhetoric in this country is little different then in all past discrimination battles. One of the leading groups opposed to gay people being full participants in our society is the same large group, that over a thousand years gave the world the hatred of the Jews, Jesus own people. A hatred that culminated in WWII and the Holocast.
The old traditional marriage, marriage sanctity, protect marriage arguments are the same arguments used to oppose Black people having legal marriage (occured in 1867), allowing women to vote (1920), and eliminating laws banning inter-racial marriage (1967). In fact, in the early 1970’s Republican President Nixon, before being exposed, even said “all inter-racial fetuses should be aborted”.
And please note that the state with the lowest divorce rate is also the first state to provide legal marriage equality for gay people - MA. And DC is also one of the lowest.
Gay people want to be part of the institution of marriage, and support it. While it is the str8 populace that is destroying marriage with it’s average 50% divorce rate.
About time the nation woke up. Gays have become the New Jews, and the New Blacks to those whose hardened heart, in the name of God and Jesus no less, always have needed someone to denigrate. A stain on our national soul.
3. amazed | 09.02.09
While I support the idea that everyobne should be given the same opportunity to marry, I am outraged that you would compare your desire to get married with the holocaust.
Get real. No one has systematically sought to eradicate you from the face of the earth. It’s things such as comparing yourselves to holocaust victims that make people not want to support your cause.
BTW, you quote Nixon? What about Obama, who has stated he is against gay marriage?
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1. Samia Lawrence | 07.08.09
As a Lesbian myself, I’ll be happy when everyone stops fixating on the outside. It is truely my belief that someone in a same sex relationship is just someone with the ability to truely love whats inside a person. My girlfriend and I are getting married on September 9th this year. And whether my state recognizes it or not, we will still know we are married. We will not forget the vows we take on that day just because other people dont want us to be married. This is not a fad, and its not going away. But I like the way Oprah put it best, “If you dont agree with gay marriage, dont marry a gay person.”