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A bill that allows D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty to recognize as domestic partnerships same-sex marriages performed in other states and countries has become law.
The Omnibus Domestic Partnership Equality Amendment Act of 2008, which the D.C. Council approved unanimously in May and Congress finished reviewing in September, stops short of allowing the city to recognize such marriages as full-fledged marriages.
But local activists said the law breaks new ground by enabling same-sex couples who marry in other states or in foreign countries to have their relationships legally recognized in some way if they move to or visit D.C.
“Relationships established in accordance with the laws of other jurisdictions that are substantially similar to domestic partnerships established [under the D.C. domestic partnership law], as certified by the mayor, shall be recognized as domestic partnerships in the District,” the new law states.
The omnibus domestic partnership measure was introduced jointly by Council members David Catania (I-At-Large), Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) and Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6). Council Chair Vincent Gray (D-At-Large) and Council members Carole Schwartz (R-At-Large), Kwame Brown (D-At-Large), Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), and Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) co-sponsored the measure.
Brian Moore, an aide to Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), whose committee approved the bill before final passage, said D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles was expected to prepare implementing rules or guidelines needed to carry out the law’s provisions.
A spokesperson for Nickles told the Blade she would make inquires to determine when the implementation process would be completed, but did not respond by deadline.
Moore said members of the Council wanted to give the mayor and his legal advisers flexibility in determining which same-sex relationships should be recognized by the city.
He said civil unions and other types of domestic partnerships are intended to be recognized, as well as same-sex marriages. Currently, Massachusetts and Connecticut are the only two states in which same-sex marriages are legal. Other states, such as New Jersey and Vermont, recognize civil unions. Canada and Spain are among the foreign countries that have legalized same-sex marriage.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Victim stabbed in possible D.C. anti-gay crime
Two unidentified male attackers stabbed someone in the shoulder and back and injured a second person on the lip while shouting anti-gay names at a carry out restaurant in Southeast D.C., according to police.
A statement released by acting Lt. Brett Parson, who oversees the police Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, said the incident took place about 10:30 p.m. Dec. 4 inside the Hong Kong Delite Carry Out at 3123 Martin Luther King Ave., S.E.
Parson identified the victims as males. One is a D.C. resident, and the other is a resident of Largo, Md. He said police don’t disclose the names or the sexual orientation of assault victims.
Police have classified the incident as an assault with a dangerous weapon and as a “potential hate/bias crime,” the statement says.
While inside the carry out restaurant “the suspects and the complainants were involved in a verbal altercation, during which homophobic epithets were used by one or more of the suspects,” the statement says. According to Parson’s statement, one of the suspects stabbed one of the victims in the back and right shoulder.
One victim was taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition, and the victim’s injuries were listed as non-life threatening, the statement says. The second victim received a minor laceration to the lip, the statement says, and was treated on the scene by paramedics.
Police are asking that anyone with information related to the incident should call the police command information center at 202-727-9099.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
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