12-15-2009, 08:07 PM
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Proud American Liberal
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D.C. council votes to legalize same-sex marriage
D.C. council votes to legalize same-sex marriage - CNN.com
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The Washington City Council voted Tuesday to legalize same-sex marriage in the nation's capital.
The bill was approved overwhelmingly by a vote of 11-2. The bill will be given to Mayor Adrian Fenty, who has expressed his support and vowed to sign the bill.
If the mayor signs it, Congress will have 30 days to intervene before it would take effect. It is considered unlikely that the Democratic majority on Capitol Hill will block the bill
Tuesday's second vote was needed to send the measure to Fenty. The council passed the bill in an 11-2 vote December 1.
If the measure becomes law, Washington will join Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and Iowa in allowing legal same-sex marriages. A law legalizing gay marriage in New Hampshire takes affect January 1.
Council members who voted in favor of the measure hailed Tuesday's second and final vote as a historic moment.
"Today is the final step in this long march," Council Member Phil Mendelson said.
The two council members who voted against the legislation, Yvette Alexander and former Washington Mayor Marion Barry, said they could not support it because the majority of their constituents did not.
Council Member David Catania, who is openly gay and who introduced the measure, said ahead of the vote that he understood the reason behind the dissenting council members' votes.
"They are my friends, and they are decent; this is simply a difference of opinion," he said.
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An interesting legal position as the District of Columbia is technically administered by the Congress. The employees of DC will be able to get benefits for their spouses, but DOMA is still in place preventing the federal government from recognizing gay marriage... A paradox.
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"As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality." George Washington
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