D.C. same-sex 'marriage' bill fails to protect religious freedom, archdiocese states

Washington D.C., Dec 15, 2009 / 17:40 pm

The City Council of Washington D.C. voted today to legalize same-sex “marriage,” causing the Archdiocese of Washington to state that it failed to “balance the Council’s interest in redefining marriage with the need to protect religious freedom.”

The contentious measure passed today by a vote of 11-2, despite concerns raised by the archdiocese about the impact the law would have on its ability to provide social services.

The passage of the measure was also marked by the refusal of the City Council to put the approval of same-sex “marriage” before D.C. voters in a referendum.

In November, Mayor Adrian Fenty said that the D.C. Council was capable of making a decision regarding same-sex "marriage" because the council was elected by the citizens of the District of Columbia. The Board of Elections Chairman, Errol R. Arthur, added in a November 17 statement that allowing a referendum would run afoul of D.C.'s Human Rights Act, since it “would authorize discrimination prohibited under the [District's] Human Rights Act.”

The “Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009” will now go to the desk of Mayor Fenty, who has promised to sign it.

However, Concerned Women for America president Wendy Wright is not pleased with the approval.

"The DC City Council has reached the heights of arrogance by deliberately ignoring what they know is the will of their constituents to impose a measure that will damage the most vulnerable in the city. Imposing same-sex 'marriage' on D.C. residents will threaten the religious freedoms of those who disagree,” Wright said on Tuesday evening.

Citing the federal Defense of Marriage Act, Wright called on Congress to override the City Council's vote. “Congress should do what the DC Council refused to do -- respect the views of the citizens and affirm that marriage, which provides unique benefits that cannot be replicated by any other living arrangement, is a union between a man and a woman," Wright said.