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| Gay D.C. City Council member David Catania (I-At Large) is the author and lead sponsor of the District's same-sex marriage bill. (Blade photo by Aram Vartian) | |
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By LOU CHIBBARO JR, Washington Blade
Nov 2 2009, 8:48 PM |
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For the second week in a row, witnesses supporting a same-sex marriage bill far outnumbered opponents at a D.C. City Council hearing that was expected to hear testimony from more than 160 people and last into the evening.
Similar to the first hearing on the bill held Oct. 26, many witnesses for and against the Religious Freedom & Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009 gave emotional accounts of how the proposed bill would have a profound impact on their lives and their religious faith.
Andrew Hertzberg, a gay D.C. man who sat at the witness table next to Andy Rollman, his domestic partner, startled some in the audience when he stood up and then kneeled before Rollman and asked for his hand in marriage.
"So on this historic occasion, which means so much for the lives of so many, I would like to take a huge step in my own life," he said. "Andy Rollman, you've changed my life … I love you so much … Will you marry me?"
"Yes," Rollman replied, prompting Hertzberg to place a ring on Rollman's finger.
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, chair of the Council's Committee on Public Safety & Judiciary, which held the hearing, congratulated Hertzberg and Rollman on their engagement.
Nearly a dozen gay men and lesbians testified that they, too, were in same-sex relationships and appealed to the Council to pass the marriage legislation so that they could marry in D.C. rather than wedding in another state where same-sex marriages are performed.
District resident Jim Marks, who sat at the witness table next to his partner of 29 years, Nick Apostol, testified that the two married in March in Connecticut, where same-sex marriage is legal. He noted that a same-sex marriage recognition law the D.C. Council passed earlier this year means his and Apostol's marriage is now officially recognized in the city.
"I am deeply appreciative of the actions of Connecticut and the District of Columbia," he said. "Now we don't need to live our lives as if we are married. We are. I thank you for the work you have done and urge you to pass this legislation so that all my GLBT brothers and sisters can have the rights and responsibilities that Nick and I now enjoy."
Among the witnesses opposed to the bill were Brian Brown, executive director of the National Organization for Marriage, which helps to fund ballot measures seeking to ban same-sex marriage in other states, and Rev. Water Fauntroy, D.C.'s former delegate to the House of Representative and a leading opponent in the District of same-sex marriage.
Brown said that legalizing same-sex marriage would undermine the institution of marriage, hurting families and children.
"People of many different faiths, backgrounds, traditions — people separated by wide swaths of time and space — agree that it takes at least one man and one woman to make a marriage," he said. "They do so primarily because marriage is that institution by which society continues itself."
Council member David Catania (I-At Large), the author and lead sponsor of the same-sex marriage bill, questioned Brown about election law complaints filed against his organization in Maine. Catania noted that Maine's election commission was deliberating over allegations that the National Organization for Marriage illegally withheld records of organizations and individuals who contributed money to a campaign seeking to overturn a Maine same-sex marriage law through a Nov. 3 ballot referendum.
Brown called the allegations "scurrilous" and "baseless" and said they were being pushed by same-sex marriage supporters to undermine his organization.
Fauntroy, in turn, described himself as a longtime supporter of LGBT rights and strongly backs the city's Human Rights Act, which bars discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the area of employment, housing and public accommodations. He noted that he also led efforts in the U.S. to push for an end to the apartheid government in South Africa, which Fauntroy called one of the world's most important human rights battles.
But he said he draws a line on the subject of marriage, which he said must be upheld as an institution only between a man and a woman. Traditional marriage is essential for upholding the family, which, in turn, is essential for "the perpetuation of the species," he said.
Catania praised Fauntroy for his many years of service to the city and for championing D.C. home rule during his tenure as the city's congressional delegate. But he questioned Fauntroy's concern about the perpetuation of the species, noting that humanity's huge population shows "we are in no danger of extinction."
Catania also noted that South Africa legalized same-sex marriage in 2006 and that its majority-black democratic government incorporated gay rights protections into its constitution.
Benjamin Abdelrahaman, who identified himself as a native Washingtonian and a Muslim, and Corinthia Boone, an official with the International Christian Host Coalition, were among a number of same-sex marriage opponents who called on the Council to bring the legislation before the voters in a ballot initiative.
"A nation that tampers with the concept of marriage being between a man and a woman will fall into decline," Boone said. "The world is watching. Let the people vote."
Mendelson argued that the City Council operates as a representative form of government, with the people weighing in on important public policy issues by voting for or against the mayor and members of the Council when they come up for election.
Catania, similar to his comments last week during the first round of public testimony, pointed to ballot measures in U.S. history that denied voting rights to blacks and immigrants.
Michael Crawford, co-chair of the same-sex marriage advocacy group D.C. for Marriage, said it was significant that over 75 percent of the witnesses at the hearing spoke in favor of same-sex marriage equality.
"The turnout at the two days of hearings on the marriage equality bill shows that a diverse array of D.C. residents recognize this as a matter of basic fairness and strongly support ending marriage discrimination against same-sex couples," Crawford said in a statement.
"People of diverse faiths, African-Americans, straight allies, Democrats and Republicans — to name only some of the groups represented — have all expressed support for marriage equality," he said.
A witness list released by Mendelson's office at the start of the hearing showed that 267 witnesses were scheduled to testify. Mendelson said he would allow others not on the list to testify at the end of the hearing. He said the hearing record would be left open until 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, and anyone wishing to submit written testimony could do so up until that time.
Mendelson said his committee would hold a markup hearing on Nov. 10 to consider possible changes in the bill before voting to send the bill to the full Council. He said the Council's "first reading" vote on the bill would take place Dec. 1.
Council member Harry Thomas (D-Ward 5) last week became the eleventh Council member to declare his intent to vote for the Catania same-sex marriage bill.
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