In DC, Judge Asked to Block GAY MARRIAGE Decision

Opponents of gay marriage filed a lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court yesterday hoping to force a referendum on whether to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.

The civil suit against the District’s Board of Elections and Ethics asks Judge Judith E. Retchin to overturn an election board ruling Monday that blocked a proposal to put the issue before the voters. Citing a District election law prohibiting votes on matters covered under the 1977 Human Rights Act, which outlaws discrimination against gay men, lesbians and other minority groups, the board said that a referendum would “authorize discrimination.”

The plaintiffs asked for an expedited hearing. If the court or Congress does not intervene, recognition of same-sex marriages performed elsewhere will become law early next month, at the end of the required congressional review period.

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Washington Post

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Bid to Block Recognition of Unions Fails In DC

The District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics rejected a proposed ballot question intended to block city recognition of same-sex marriages from other locations. Last month, the City Council voted 12 to 1 to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions, a decision widely seen as a prelude to an inevitable vote on legalizing same-sex marriages in the capital. Pastors opposing same-sex marriage sought the citywide referendum in hopes of reversing that decision, but the election board said the referendum was not allowed under the city’s 1977 Human Rights Act See Bid to Block Recognition of Unions Fails

New York Times

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DC Panel Hears Arguments On Gay Marriage Referendum Washington Post -

The battle over same-sex marriage in the District moved to the city election board yesterday as supporters and opponents packed into a hearing room to debate whether the city should put the issue on the ballot.

The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics, which currently has two members and one vacancy, will determine whether voters should have a chance in a referendum to block a bill legalizing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.

The board heard four hours of testimony yesterday and is expected to make a decision Friday or early next week.

Both sides presented legal and political arguments about whether the same-sex marriage issue should be in the hands of voters or the politicians who represent them.

“All we are asking for is a public debate,” said the Rev. Dale Wafer, a supporter of the referendum and a minister with the Harvest, a religious community in Northeast Washington. “We are not afraid of a debate. All we want is a public debate.”

Philip E. Pannell, a longtime gay rights advocate and Democratic Party activist, accused referendum supporters of “advocating for a popular vote that will give vent to public homophobia.”

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DC Pledges Quick Review On Marriage Referendum

City election officials said yesterday that they will expedite their review of a request for a referendum to block a D.C. Council bill recognizing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, as opponents vowed to fight to keep it off the ballot.

After filing paperwork Wednesday to hold a citywide referendum on the question, a coalition of religious leaders and other same-sex marriage opponents is facing a July deadline to collect about 21,000 signatures to force a special election this year. Before they can collect the signatures, however, the city election board has to rule on whether District voters have the right to weigh in on the issue.

Kenneth McGhie, general counsel to the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics, said the board has scheduled a special hearing June 10 to take up the matter.

McGhie said that if board members decide that a referendum is appropriate, supporters of a ballot proposal “are going to get their petitions right away and have two or three weeks to work with to try to get signatures.”

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Washington Post – United States

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Recognizing Same-Sex Marriage: Group Calls for Citywide Referendum in DC

A group of ministers and same-sex marriage opponents filed a request today calling for a citywide referendum on whether the District should recognize gay marriages performed in other states.
The group, Stand 4 Marriage, said it will begin collecting signatures to try to force the issue onto the ballot. Earlier this month, the City Council and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) agreed to recognized gay marriages performed elsewhere.
The opponents formally requested today that the Board of Elections convene a meeting to decide whether the issue is eligible for a referendum. If the Board agrees, the opponents will have to collect signatures from 5 percent of registered voters. If an election is called, the legislation will be stayed until that referendum occurs, the opponents say.
“The recognition of same-sex marriages in the District of Columbia is a bad idea for our citizens. At a minimum, it should not be allowed without the approval of voters,” said Bishop Harry Jackson, Senior Pastor of Hope Christian Church “Thirty states in America have voted on whether gay marriage should be legalized, and every state has opposed it because legalizing gay marriage has significant consequences for society. It is only right that voters in the District of Columbia also be allowed to vote on this important issue before it is imposed on its residents.”
Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), the sponsor of the legislation to recognize gay marriages performed elsewhere, said he is bewildered by Jackson’s strategy. Noting the District’s progressive reputation, Mendelson predicted District voters would reject efforts to stop same-sex marriage. See Recognizing Same-Sex Marriage: Group Calls for Citywide Referendum Washington Post – United States * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual

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‘People’s veto’ looms despite passage of gay marriage in Maine

Mary Breen, of South Berwick, Maine, is counting down the days until she and her partner can be married, now that Gov. John Baldacci has signed into law the state’s gay marriage bill.
“It’s a proud day to live in Maine,” she said after the signing. The moment the law goes into effect, she said, “We’ll be getting married.”
Exactly when that day will be depends on how quickly opponents can mount a petition campaign to force a citizen’s veto of the law, said Julie Flynn, deputy secretary of state for the Bureau of Corporation, Elections and Commissions.
Unlike New Hampshire, Maine has a mechanism to overturn a law called the “people’s veto.” Opponents must gather signatures of registered voters equal to 10 percent of those who voted in the last gubernatorial election. If verified, the veto measure is put on the next statewide ballot, with voters either upholding or repealing the law.
The secretary of state received an application for a people’s veto on Thursday, Flynn said. The office has 10 business days to write a legal ballot question and return it to the applicant.
The coalition of opponents, including the Catholic diocese of Portland and the Maine Jeremiah Project, must collect 55,087 valid signatures, but in practice need to get more than that in case signatures are disqualified.
For all practical purposes, said Flynn, opponents need to collect those signatures by mid-August to get on the November ballot, because they must be certified by town or city clerks first, then by the secretary of state — all by Sept. 4. That leaves 60 days before the Nov. 4 election, time enough for ballots to be printed and to allow for absentee voting.
Last year, opponents of a beverage tax were successful in garnering enough signatures for November and were ultimately successful in overturning the law. However, said Flynn, there was also a statewide election in June last year when organizers could gather signatures. There isn’t one in this off-election year.
“There’s always the county fairs and that sort of thing, but for this to be done, there’s going to have to be an organized effort,” she said.
Meanwhile, the bill itself is going on its own legal track. It will become law 91 days after the Legislature recesses, which is set for June 17 but could be earlier or later. That means the law would likely take effect Sept. 16. However, if the petitions are submitted to the secretary of state any time before Sept. 16, the law would be stayed from going into effect, Flynn said.See ‘People’s veto’ looms despite passage of gay marriage in Maine York Weekly * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual

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Lesbian wins Icelandic elections

Johanna Sigurdardottir’s center-left coalition wins, making her the first elected lesbian world leader.

Lesbian wins Icelandic elections

Johanna Sigurdardottir’s center-left coalition wins, making her the first elected lesbian world leader.

Gay marriage fault lines in San Mateo County

Proposition 8, the State Constitutional Amendment recently passed by California voters, was arguably one of the most divisive pieces of public policy placed before the voters since Proposition 187, the anti-illegal immigrant initiative which was passed by voters in 1994.

Proposition 8 is the Constitutional Amendment that eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry in California and established that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.

Proposition 8 passed by the narrow margin of 6,838,107 votes in support, or 52.3%, to 6,246,463 votes against, or 47.7% in the State. In San Mateo County, Proposition 8 failed by a wide margin of 114,695 votes in support, or 38.3%, to 185,127 votes against, or 61.7%.

Since its passage, many of those of donated in support of the measure have been subject to unpleasant phone calls and letters, some of which contained foul language and physical threats. Web sites like AntiGayBlacklist.com posted donors’ names and home addresses on Google maps and there have been calls for boycotts of the businesses of donors.

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Examiner.com -