A
Northeast
D.C.
woman
hopes
to
add
the
District
to
the
list
of
U.S.
jurisdictions
that
prohibit
same-sex
marriage.
She
has
started
a
group
called
D.C.
Citizens
for
Marriage
that
intends
to
place
before
District
voters
a
referendum
that
would
permanently
ban
gay
marriage
in
the
nation’s
capital.
Ward
4
resident
Lisa
L.
Greene
filed
the
necessary
paperwork
with
the
D.C.
Board
of
Elections
&
Ethics
on
Oct.
4.
That
body
has
scheduled
a
Nov.
18
hearing
to
determine
if
Greene’s
initiative
meets
the
criteria
required
for
a
referendum.
“I
don’t
have
a
problem
if
someone
is
a
lesbian
or
a
homosexual,”
Greene
said.
“But
I
feel
their
personal
preferences
should
be
kept
private.
If
two
people
want
to
live
together,
that’s
their
choice.
It’s
my
belief
that
marriage
is
an
institution
between
a
man
and
a
woman
only.”
The
text
of
the
proposed
referendum,
titled
the
District
of
Columbia
Marriage
Protection
Act,
reads:
“The
Citizens
of
the
District
of
Columbia
and
the
District
Council
defines
and
preserves
marriage
as
a
relationship
between
one
man
and
one
woman
only.”
If
the
DCBOEE
approves,
Greene
and
her
allies
would
have
to
collect
more
than
19,000
signatures
in
180
days
to
bring
the
measure
before
District
voters,
according
to
Bill
O’Field,
DCBOEE
spokesperson.
The
total
number
of
valid
signatures
needed
is
5
percent
of
the
number
of
registered
voters
in
the
District.
Many
gay
activists
were
surprised
by
Greene’s
action
and
first
learned
about
it
when
contacted
by
the
Blade.
“We
in
the
Gay
&
Lesbian
Activists
Alliance
believe
it
is
wrong
to
subject
the
civil
rights
of
any
minority
to
the
whim
of
the
majority,”
Rick
Rosendall,
vice
president
for
political
affairs
for
GLAA,
wrote
in
a
letter
to
members
of
the
D.C.
Council
in
response
to
the
effort.
“As
no
marriage
licenses
are
being
issued
to
same-sex
couples
here,
and
no
legislation
is
being
contemplated
that
would
change
this,
a
peremptory
popular
vote
on
the
matter
amounts
to
a
solution
without
a
problem.”
Gay
marriages
have
not
been
performed
in
the
District,
and
D.C.
courts
have
ruled
that
they
are
not
allowed
under
current
D.C.
law.
Still,
many
gay
residents
have
been
awaiting
the
release
of
an
opinion
by
D.C.
Attorney
General
Robert
Spagnoletti
on
whether
the
District
is
required
to
recognize
gay
marriages
from
other
jurisdictions,
like
Massachusetts.
Mayor
Anthony
Williams
has
refused
to
release
that
opinion.
Greene
claims
to
have
25
volunteers
lined
up
to
gather
signatures,
as
well
as
the
support
of
a
number
of
local
pastors.
She
also
said
the
conservative
legal
group
American
Center
for
Law
&
Justice
is
also
assisting
their
efforts.
The
group
is
required
to
submit
a
statement
of
organization
and
a
verified
statement
of
contributions
to
the
D.C.
Office
of
Campaign
Finance
before
next
week’s
hearing.
As
of
Wednesday,
it
had
not
done
so.
Greene
said
the
group
intends
to
comply
with
the
requirement.
If
it
does
not,
the
DCBOEE
will
likely
reject
the
request
for
an
initiative
drive,
DCBOEE
spokesperson
O’Field
said.
Greene,
who
is
black,
said
she
is
bringing
this
issue
forth
now
because
she
believes
gay
marriage
is
especially
a
threat
to
African
Americans.
“As
an
African
American,
I
feel
it’s
important
to
preserve
the
family,”
Greene
said.
“Statistics
show
African
Americans
have
the
nation’s
highest
rate
of
out-of-marriage
births.”
Greene,
a
native
Washingtonian,
said
research
shows
that
children
born
to
unwed
parents
do
far
worse
in
all
areas
of
life
than
children
born
in
families
with
a
husband
and
wife
who
are
married.
She
added
that
she’s
concerned
about
large
numbers
of
African-American
women
who
are
infected
with
HIV
from
black
men
who
have
sex
with
other
men.
She
did
not
elaborate
on
how
this
is
related
to
the
issue
of
same-sex
marriage.
Representatives
of
GLAA,
a
small
group
of
local
gay
activists,
said
they
are
researching
legal
options
and
plan
to
testify
at
next
week’s
meeting.
They
think
a
law
they
helped
pass
decades
ago
may
help
defeat
the
initiative
request.
In
the
1980s,
GLAA
pushed
for
a
law
that
bans
D.C.
initiatives
or
referenda
that
would
remove
civil
rights
protections
conferred
by
the
D.C.
Human
Rights
Act.
However,
it’s
unclear
whether
same-sex
marriage
could
be
considered
a
civil
rights
protection
conferred
under
the
city’s
human
rights
law.
Arthur
Spitzer,
lead
attorney
with
the
D.C.
chapter
of
the
American
Civil
Liberties
Union,
said
the
ACLU
plans
to
oppose
the
initiative
on
its
merits.
