Ward 8 Democrats Act Ahead of D.C. Council Legislation
The District’s same-sex marriage debate continued yesterday in the basement of a library in Ward 8, the predominantly African American community that council member Marion Barry invoked in justifying his recent vote against a bill to recognize gay marriages performed outside of the city.
But yesterday, gay rights advocates declared victory in a key battle to set the tone for the issue when the Ward 8 Democrats voted 21 to 11 to support the legalization of same-sex marriage, in preparation for legislation expected to be introduced in the D.C. Council this year.
The Ward 8 vote came after almost two hours of discussion about religion, referendums and civil rights among the crowd of about 100 people at the Washington Highlands Library on Atlantic Avenue SW.
Barry, who was scheduled to speak for the opposition, did not attend. Sandy Allen, a former council member and president of the Ward 8 Democrats, said Barry told her he had a doctor’s appointment.
More than a week ago, Barry drew ire and praise when he was the lone dissenter in a 12 to 1 vote to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. Barry, a civil rights icon and a longtime supporter of gay rights, said his vote represented the feelings of the predominantly black Ward 8 and, in a broader sense, most black people in the District.
Local gay rights advocates say there is some credence to Barry’s argument. A 2006 poll by a local group advocating same-sex marriage shows strongest opposition among black residents. Some of those sentiments were on display at yesterday’s Ward 8 discussion.
“We are not homophobic. We are not hatemongers. We love everybody,” said the Rev. Patrick J. Walker, chairman of a new task force of ministers opposed to gay marriage. The task force is part of the Missionary Baptist Ministers’ Conference in the region, which pressed Barry to vote against the same-sex marriage recognition legislation.
“It’s our position that this is an issue that should go before the people. Thirteen people . . . should not set the moral compass of this city,” Walker said, referring to the members of the council. He is the pastor of New Macedonia Baptist Church in Southeast.
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Harkin: Gay couples can be good parents
Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin said today he prefers children to be adopted into heterosexual marriages, if all other factors are equal, but that some gay couples are better parents.Harkin’s mixed feelings disappointed some longtime supporters in Iowa’s gay community and raised the question of how other elected officials who support the Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling allowing gay marriage feel about same-sex adoptions.
“I’m just saying that, if everything was equal, I guess my proclivity would be to have a heterosexual couple, Harkin said during a conference call with reporters.Harkin had previously said he preferred adoptions by heterosexual couples. He was asked today if he still felt that way, in light of the ruling allowing same-sex marriage.He said heterosexual couples do not always make better parents than same-sex couples.“I don’t want to practice armchair psychology here or anything like that. I guess it’s my own feelings on that,” Harkin said. “But I’m saying there may be times when that is not the best — because I’ve known gay couples who have raised children, and they’ve done great in doing that, and the children did not grow up to necessarily be gay or lesbian.” See Harkin: Gay couples can be good parents
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Barry Warns of “Civil War” Over Gay Marriage in DC
D.C. Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8), the only council member to vote against the bill today to legalize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, predicted today there could be a “civil war” in the District if the Council decides to take up a broader gay marriage bill later this year.
“All hell is going to break lose,” Barry said while speaking to reporters. “We may have a civil war. The black community is just adamant against this.”
Barry made his remarks a few hours after a group of same-sex marriage opponents, led by black ministers, caused uproar in the Wilson Building after the Council voted 12 to 1 to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. They caused such a ruckus that security guards and police had to clear the hallway. The protesters shouted that council members who voted for the bill will face retribution at the polls.
Although he has been a longtime supporter of gay rights, Barry said he voted against the bill to satisfy his constituents in Southeast Washington.
“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,” Barry said. “Secondly, at least 70 percent of those who express themselves to me about this are opposed to anything dealing with this issue. The ministers think it is a sin, and I have to be sensitive to that.”
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Advocates Say Paterson Falls Short On Gay Marriage Issue
Governor David Paterson is under fire from some Democrats who say he has not done enough to help legalize gay marriage in New York. NY1′s Grace Rauh filed the following report.
Governor David Paterson has been a longtime supporter of gay marriage, and has even ordering state agencies to recognize same-sex unions performed outside New York.
But in the fight to legalize gay marriage in his own state, some lawmakers charge that Paterson isn’t doing his part.
“Say what you will about former Governor [Eliot] Spitzer, a blessing and a curse. However, working with him, we would have gotten this bill passed by now,” said Democratic Manhattan Senator Tom Duane. “We absolutely would have gotten this bill passed and we would have had a strategy. And we would have worked together and we would have made sure it became a reality.”
But there is new momentum behind the issue, in the wake of Iowa and Vermont’s recent moves to legalize same-sex marriage.
Paterson says he will introduce a gay marriage bill in the State Senate, but deeply angered supporters this week by arguing that the bill should move to the floor even if it doesn’t have the votes to pass.
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Advocates Say Paterson Falls Short On Gay Marriage Issue
Governor David Paterson is under fire from some Democrats who say he has not done enough to help legalize gay marriage in New York. NY1′s Grace Rauh filed the following report.
Governor David Paterson has been a longtime supporter of gay marriage, and has even ordering state agencies to recognize same-sex unions performed outside New York.
But in the fight to legalize gay marriage in his own state, some lawmakers charge that Paterson isn’t doing his part.
“Say what you will about former Governor [Eliot] Spitzer, a blessing and a curse. However, working with him, we would have gotten this bill passed by now,” said Democratic Manhattan Senator Tom Duane. “We absolutely would have gotten this bill passed and we would have had a strategy. And we would have worked together and we would have made sure it became a reality.”
But there is new momentum behind the issue, in the wake of Iowa and Vermont’s recent moves to legalize same-sex marriage.
Paterson says he will introduce a gay marriage bill in the State Senate, but deeply angered supporters this week by arguing that the bill should move to the floor even if it doesn’t have the votes to pass.
See Advocates Say Paterson Falls Short On Gay Marriage Issue NY1
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