Jul 16, 2004  |  By: LOU CHIBBARO JR.  | COMMENTS     

A Republican congresswoman from Virginia introduced a bill on July 7 that would prohibit the District of Columbia from legalizing same-sex marriage or recognizing such marriages from other states.

Rep. Jo Ann Davis, whose district includes the cities of Fredericksburg and Williamsburg, dropped her bill into the legislative hopper without any co-sponsors and without releasing a statement elaborating on her reasons for introducing the legislation.

Davis’ bill, H.R. 4773, is just one sentence long. It states, “In the District of Columbia, for all legal purposes, ‘marriage’ means the union of one man and one woman.”

Neither Davis nor her press secretary, Chris Connelly, returned calls seeking comment by press time.

“We are sitting ducks for this type of thing,” said D.C. Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.). “The fact that someone chose to do this is no surprise.”

If enacted by Congress, the bill would add D.C. to the list of 38 states governed by a Defense of Marriage Act, or “DOMA” laws, aimed at banning same-sex marriage within their jurisdictions. Virginia has such a DOMA law while Maryland does not, though Maryland law defines marriage as limited to opposite-sex couples.

District Mayor Anthony Williams and a majority of the members of the D.C. Council have said they strongly oppose such laws, saying they favor, in principle, the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Norton said she would enlist the help of House Democratic leaders to oppose Davis’ bill.

Norton and other Capitol Hill observers said the lack of co-sponsors and the apparent decision not to draw immediate attention to her bill suggests that Davis may be seeking to lay the groundwork for attaching the measure in the form of an amendment to the D.C. appropriations bill.

The influential House Appropriations Committee was scheduled to mark up the city’s fiscal year 2005 appropriations measure this week.

Although the committee chair, Rep. Bill Young (R-Fla.), has said he opposes attaching non-germane policy-related amendments to appropriations bills, gay activists expressed concern that the Republican-controlled committee might go along with an amendment to ban gay marriage in D.C.

Even if the committee rejects such an amendment, activists said, the full House has approved anti-gay amendments to D.C. appropriations bills in the past and could do so again this year.

Norton said she expects House Democrats to help her in opposing Davis’ bill. But she said many House members don’t view D.C.-related legislation as having an important impact on their home districts. Norton said House members from conservative or swing districts sometimes vote for anti-gay amendments to the D.C. budget bill to avoid being portrayed by critics as having voted for “gay rights.”

Davis’ bill was referred to the House Government Reform Committee, which is chaired by Congressman Tom Davis (R-Va.), who is not related to Rep. Jo Ann Davis.

Tom Davis, whose district includes Fairfax County, has declined to co-sponsor the Federal Marriage Amendment, a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. The Senate rejected the FMA this week on a procedural vote.

Jo Ann Davis is a co-sponsor of the FMA but she has not been an outspoken gay rights opponent. Information on the Web site for her congressional office shows she has devoted much of her attention to national security and military procurement issues in a district that includes military installations and civilian employees who work for the military.

A bill to ban gay marriage in the District has been assigned to Rep. trong>Tom Davis’ (right) Governmental Affairs Committee. The Virginia Republican represents parts of Fairfax County. (AP Photo)

A former real estate broker, Jo Ann Davis was first elected to the House in 2000. She scored a zero on the Human Rights Campaign scorecard for sponsorships and votes taken by the 107th Congress, covering 2001-02.

Still waiting on the mayor
The bill to ban gay marriage in the District comes as D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams still holds back a legal opinion by the city’s chief attorney on whether D.C. laws permit the city to recognize same-sex marriages issued in Massachusetts or other states.

Sources close to the city government have said the opinion by D.C. Attorney General Robert Spagnoletti, who is gay, holds that same-sex marriages from others states could be legally recognized in the District.

Last month, Williams told a meeting of his gay community advisory committee that he would release the findings of Spagnoletti’s legal opinion on or before the July 4th weekend. Williams did not release the opinion then, and his office has declined to say when or whether ...