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| Richard Neidich (left) and Edward Horvath were
married in Massachusetts last June. They were criticized by some local gay activists
for subjecting D.C. gays to possible retribution by Congress.
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HOME > NEWS > LOCAL
By: LOU CHIBBARO JR. COMMENTS
 
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belief that they are a validly married couple under the laws of
Massachusetts,” Satterfield wrote. “The Office of Tax & Revenue
reserves the authority to review the return for its legal validity under D.C.
law upon receipt of the return in order to determine whether D.C. will accord
recognition to the out-of-state marriage,” Satterfield wrote. “This
review may include proof of marriage, including date and place of the marriage.”
In a separate e-mail to Graham, Spagnoletti stated, “As you can see from
the response we sent to Mr. Horvath on April 14, validly married same-sex couples
may file a joint D.C. Form 40.”
Horvath, who works for the federal government, said he received messages of
support from other gay rights groups over the tax issue, including at least
one national group, but he declined to identify them, saying he would rather
leave it to the groups to issue their own statements at a time they deem appropriate.
David Smith, vice president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s
largest gay political group, called Spagnoletti’s statement on joint tax
filings for married gay couples “an isolated situation unique to D.C.”
“Its national significance is minimal,” Smith said. “But
anything that happens in D.C. has an impact on what Congress does,” he
said. “So the political impact can lead to complications that must be
considered.”
The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force did not respond to a request for
comment by press time.
Although GLAA does not support efforts to push for marriage recognition at
the present time, other local activists said they were pleased with Horvath
and Neidich’s request for recognition of their marriage.
“At some point you just have to take a stand,” D.C. gay activist
Phil Pannell said. “I can understand being careful about the prevailing
political climate. But a time comes when you just have to take a stand,”
he said. “If you get knocked down, you get up and keep fighting.”
Gay Democratic activist Peter Rosenstein, who has served as an adviser to Williams,
said he is sympathetic to GLAA’s concerns about congressional intervention
but said he has urged the mayor to recognize same-sex marriages from Massachusetts
because existing D.C. law clearly calls for such recognition.
“It can’t be suppressed if it’s legal to do this under D.C.
law,” Rosenstein said. “If these two gentlemen file a tax return,
you can’t suppress a rule that comes out of that. So I believe the mayor
will be forced to make some type of formal decision this year.”
GLAA has argued that the D.C. Council and the mayor have approved a number
of recent advances in domestic partnership benefits for same-sex couples in
the District. The group has proposed that the city incrementally expand the
rights, benefits and obligations for domestic partners until their rights approach
those enjoyed by married couples.
Congress,
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