New same sex marriage bill

Written By:
Eleanor Sciannella

Assistant Editor

Published:
Nov. 06 2009

At-Large council member David Catania of the Washington, D.C. city council proposed a bill that is predicted to cause political turmoil in the nation’s capital. On October 6, Catania, with nine other sponsors from the council, introduced a bill allowing same sex marriages in D.C. The bill does not force any official authorized to sanctify marriages of a religious denomination or non-profit religious organization to perform a ceremony for same-sex couples if it is against their beliefs.

The bill, titled the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009, reforms the Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992 to discontinue the registration of domestic partnerships after January 2011 and allows domestic partners to remain domestic partners or, if they choose, become married without paying a fee.

The bill is expected to pass in December, according to council rules. A majority of the council members have sponsored the bill, so the question is not whether the council will approve, but whether the Mayor will sign it or if the Congress will try to block it. Since Mayor Adrian Fenty has already pledged to sign the bill, and the more Democratic Congress will most likely not oppose, hopes are high for the bill. Republicans in Congress may attempt to raise efforts to block the bill, but many feel that the rest of the Congress is too distracted with health care reform and other problems that may interfere with the bill.

"I don’t see the affairs of the District of Columbia distracting the democratically controlled Congress on this issue," Pastor Patrick J. Walker, chairman of a task force opposing same-sex marriage said according to a Time article.

If this bill is passed, then D.C. will join Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Iowa and Wisconsin in allowing same-sex marriages.

The law is considered a major step forward for gay and lesbian rights, and many feel exalted by the support it has received.

"Part of me would like to believe that some students would feel that they could talk about that subject or they would be more inclined to talk about it because it’s in the news. I also realize that there are going to be students who will find the decision unsettling, uncomfortable and possibly aggravating. My hope is that both of those types of students try to attend gay-straight alliance meetings so they can talk about those things in a safe and non-confrontational atmosphere," gay-straight alliance advisor and English teacher Shaun Crouse said.

Others believe that the law will not have that much impact on the community.

"I always thought people at Springbrook were able to be open about their sexuality, due to things like National Coming Out Day, so I don’t think this will affect the school too much," junior Yoel Melles said.