DC Gay Marriage Opponents Run Out Of Options

For Bishop Harry Jackson, the District of Columbia pastor leading the fight against gay marriage recognition in the city, next Tuesday's start of the law leaves him with few friends and fewer options to contemplate.

On Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Judith Retchin upheld a ruling by the D.C. Board of Elections & Ethics that stopped a referendum aimed at repealing a bill that recognizes gay marriages performed in other states and countries from going forward. The panel said the referendum would violate the District's Human Rights Act of 1977 that prohibits discrimination based on race, gender or sexual orientation.

Retchin's 15-page ruling was not only broad, it chided opponents as well: “At bottom, the harm about which petitioners complain is not based on a denial of the right to referendum. Rather, they simply disagree with legislation enacted by our duly-elected [city] council. A citizen's disagreement with constitutionally sound legislation, whether based on political, religious or moral views, does not rise to the level of an actionable harm.”

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DC Gay Marriage Opponents Run Out Of Options On Top Magazine