Dec 14, 2007  |  By: LOU CHIBBARO J  | COMMENTS     

Organizers of a Dec. 6 gay marriage forum in Washington, anticipating a possible heated debate over when D.C. should pass a same-sex marriage law, enlisted the services of a professional meeting facilitator, who was poised to calm flaring tempers.

But last week’s Community Forum on Marriage Equality in the District of Columbia played out as a cordial discussion and exchange of information, with most participants agreeing that the threat of congressional intervention makes it too risky for the city to pass a gay marriage bill at the present time.

Lane Hudson, a gay Democratic activist and co-founder of D.C. For Marriage, the lead sponsor of the forum, said he expects Congress would try to overturn a gay marriage law in D.C.

Hudson and other leaders of the new marriage group joined the city’s established gay organizations in embracing a strategy of expanding the District’s domestic partners law while seeking to persuade Congress to eventually allow the city to legalize full marriage rights for gays.

The D.C. Center, a local gay group, along with the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance, the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the gay Asian group AQUA, the D.C. Coalition of Black Lesbian & Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Men & Women, and the Burgundy Crescent Volunteers co-sponsored the event.

Activists participating in the forum said the likelihood that Congress would overturn a same-sex marriage law, and possibly pass a separate law banning the city from enacting gay marriage in the future, was especially troubling because the city government has long been supportive of same-sex marriage rights.

All but two members of the 13-member D.C. Council have promised to vote for a same-sex marriage bill, and Mayor Adrian Fenty has pledged to sign such a bill — but only when they believe the legislation would survive congressional review.

Michael Crawford, president of D.C. For Marriage, and David Mariner, another one of its founding members, said the specter of congressional intervention should not stop D.C. gays from taking steps to advance marriage rights while continuing to expand the domestic partners law. The two suggested exploring a range of proposals, including possible city recognition of same-sex marriages performed in Massachusetts or in countries like Canada that have legalized same-sex unions.

“We want to make sure that whatever we do reflects the interests and the needs of the community rather than something a handful of people are deciding,” Crawford said after the forum. “All options are on the table right now, and we’re trying to figure out the best way for us to move forward.”

Crawford and other participants said they were hopeful that the election of a Democratic president and more gay-supportive members of Congress in 2008 would make it possible for the city to pass a same-sex marriage bill in 2009.

Among the more than 40 people who turned out for the forum, held at the John A. Wilson municipal building, nearly everyone who spoke expressed support for a more cautious approach aimed at avoiding congressional intervention.

One man said he and his partner had married in Massachusetts and that he would like Fenty to issue an order directing the city government to recognize his marriage.

During his election campaign last year, Fenty promised to release a legal memo prepared by former D.C. Attorney General Robert Spagnoletti that reportedly addresses the marriage recognition issue. Former Mayor Anthony Williams decided not to release the memo, which insiders say concluded that existing D.C. law would allow the city’s mayor to recognize legally sanctioned same-sex marriages from other states. Upon taking office in January, Fenty changed his mind and decided against releasing the memo. Fenty administration insiders said the mayor believed releasing the memo might antagonize Congress.

Discussion over whether Fenty should release the Spagnoletti memo drew the most disagreement among forum participants, prompting meeting facilitator Sabrina Sojourner to close discussion on the issue.

Cornelius Baker, a longtime gay and AIDS activist and former executive director of the Whitman-Walker Clinic, told the forum that opposition to same-sex marriage by D.C. residents could also lead to a voter initiative seeking to repeal a same-sex marriage law, even if Congress did not intervene.

Baker helped found the Foundation for All D.C. Families, a nonprofit corporation formed by local activists several years ago to put in place an organization to oppose an anti-gay marriage initiative. At the time, a few local faith-based activists filed papers asking the Board of ...