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D.C. Ethics Board Rejects Referendum on Homosexual “Marriage” Advocated by Black Pastors

By Peter J. Smith

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 15, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Residents in the District of Columbia will not get a chance to reverse the city council’s decision to recognize out-of-state same-sex “marriages” in a referendum after today’s ruling from the capital district’s Board of Elections and Ethics. The elections board claimed that allowing district residents a vote would violate the human rights of homosexuals protected by the D.C. charter.

Black pastors in the District had spoken vociferously against the D.C. city council’s almost unanimous May decision to recognize same-sex “marriages.” Many of them were spearheading an effort to allow the people of the district an opportunity to vote on whether they wanted homosexual “marriages” obtained out-of-state to be legally recognized or not.

Rev. Harry R. Jackson, Jr., Rev. Walter E. Fauntroy, Rev. Dale E. Wafer, Melvin Dupree, Sandra B. Harris, Dr. Patricia Johnson, and Bobby Perkins, Sr. had filed the Referendum with the Board on May 27, requesting permission for the matter to be resolved by a vote of the people.

However, the Board now says that it “concludes that the Referendum does not present a proper subject of referendum because it would authorize discrimination prohibited under the Human Rights Act.” (City Paper has the written decision here)

The Human Rights Act, as amended in 2002, includes “sexual orientation” as a specifically protected class.

The Board further stated that an amendment to current D.C. legislation states that “the initiative and referendum process would never be used to interfere with basic civil and human rights.” Ironically that amendment had been proposed by DC Councilmember Marion Barry - the only dissenting vote to the D.C. same-sex “marriage” vote.”

Marion Barry, former mayor and current councilman for Ward 8, told reporters in May that the black community in D.C. would find legislation to recognize same-sex “marriage” offensive.

"All hell is going to break loose. We may have a civil war,” Barry told reporters after the May 5 meeting. “The black community is just adamant against this. What you've got to understand is 98 percent of my constituents are black and we don't have but a handful of openly gay residents.”

The measure was signed by D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty on May 6. Without interference from Congress, the measure will take the force of law by July 6. If the new law goes unchallenged, a bill to legalize full-fledged same-sex "marriage" in the district is anticipated to follow.

Directory of D.C. Council contact information: http://www.dccouncil.washington.dc.us/councildirectory

See related coverage by LifeSiteNews.com:

Washington DC Approves Same-Sex "Marriage" Recognition
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09050610.html

D.C. Prepares to Recognize Out of State Same-Sex "Marriages" May 5
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09041705.html 

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