Opponents of same-sex marriage in Washington DC appealed a court order today that upheld a DC Board of Elections ruling against holding a referendum on the issue.
Stand4MarriageDC and the Alliance Defense Fund, two conservative groups active in the nation's capital, lodged the appeal on Wednesday. Attorneys for the two organizations placed the appeal in the hopes of allowing the issue of same-sex marriage to be decided by a popular vote.
"We are appealing because the District's marriage redefinition law shouldn't go into effect until voters have the opportunity to vote on a critical matter that affects everyone in the District," senior legal counsel Austin R. Nimocks said in a news release picked up by the Washington Post.
The first day same-sex couples will be allowed to apply for a marriage license is currently set at March 3rd. Advocates are eagerly anticipating the date's arrival because it means that no more appeals will be heard and the measure will go into full effect. Because of the District's waiting laws for marriage licenses, the first day gay and lesbian couples will be allowed to marry is Tuesday, March 9th. Council member David Catania sponsored the bill and has a countdown clock on his website until same-sex marriage becomes legal in Washington.
For more information:
Visit the press release put out by the Alliance Defense Fund here.
For information on getting married within DC, visit Councilman Catania's website at http://www.davidcatania.com/content/view/366/.
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Comments
Gay marriage
My concern is that more and more gay men get STD. It seems that gay men is easier to get an STD.
According to the report from the largest STD dating site == Positivefish.com ==(if I spell the site correctly), the gay subscribers
increased continually. Most of them are sexy.
If all else fails, jump the broom!
Where do people get the audacity to think they have a right to vote on whether or not I can marry? Then let me vote on whether or not everybody else can marry - better yet, let's just criminalize heterosexual marriage - whether or not I marry REALLY DOES NOT AFFECT YOUR LIFE!!!! Shut up and leave us alone
And where does a very tiny percent of the population of this country think they can get away with forcing their agenda on the rest of us? This absolutely SHOULD and WILL be the decision of the voters of each state for the future of their state and this country. Mainly though, I'm writing here to mention that this law WILL NOT go into effect on March 3rd. It will not go into effect until the 30-legislative-day Congressional review period is over. When I called the Workforce Subcommittee, they said that may not be until March 24th or 25th, but that they were going to determine a more accurate date and let the DC Council know.
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