MORE ON PROPOSED D.C. DOMA: From the Washington Blade

A Northeast D.C. woman hopes to add the District to the list of U.S. jurisdictions that prohibit same-sex marriage. She has started a group called D.C. Citizens for Marriage that intends to place before District voters a referendum that would permanently ban gay marriage in the nation’s capital.

Ward 4 resident Lisa L. Greene filed the necessary paperwork with the D.C. Board of Elections & Ethics on Oct. 4. That body has scheduled a Nov. 18 hearing to determine if Greene's initiative meets the criteria required for a referendum. ...

The text of the proposed referendum, titled the District of Columbia Marriage Protection Act, reads: "The Citizens of the District of Columbia and the District Council defines and preserves marriage as a relationship between one man and one woman only."

If the DCBOEE approves, Greene and her allies would have to collect more than 19,000 signatures in 180 days to bring the measure before District voters, according to Bill O'Field, DCBOEE spokesperson. The total number of valid signatures needed is 5 percent of the number of registered voters in the District. ...

Representatives of GLAA, a small group of local gay activists, said they are researching legal options and plan to testify at next week's meeting. They think a law they helped pass decades ago may help defeat the initiative request.

In the 1980s, GLAA pushed for a law that bans D.C. initiatives or referenda that would remove civil rights protections conferred by the D.C. Human Rights Act. However, it's unclear whether same-sex marriage could be considered a civil rights protection conferred under the city's human rights law.

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posted by Eve at 6:55 PM | link

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