D.C. Marriage Equality Rally Monday; Bishop Jackson Says There Will Be "Bloodletting" For Bill Passage

Maryland pastor Bishop Harry Jackson, who has crossed his state's line into Washington D.C. (to the chagrin of many) and has meddled in the capital's affairs to fight marriage equality, warned the D.C. Council of consequences for passing same-sex marriage resolution.

We're going to have to start earlier and take straw polls earlier. Our opposition had been working with these [council members] for five years. They'd invested time and money, and, to their credit, my opposition applied extreme political pressure on 30 or 40 people in the city, in the mayor's office and the city council.

But they have not changed ordinary people's opinions. It's a faux change. For instance, they created a gay organization of clergy. Our side has done the opposite, mobilizing a grass-roots effort with 1,200 churches in D.C.

In future races, religious people are going to start going after people's political careers. In D.C., some very vulnerable black councilmen went along with the city council, and some of these guys will not be sitting in those chairs in 2010 elections. Many in our coalition are wising up, looking for candidates. Political action committees are going to be formed. You're going to see a bloodletting that is going to mark a new style of engagement for people who are against same-sex marriage.

Bloodletting? What is this, the Crusades? On top of that, Jackson had been investigated into whether or not he changed his home address to avoid the criticisms of him not even being a D.C. resident.

I read a comment that he and his congregants cross into D.C. on Sunday for church services, their cars with their Maryland license plates crowding residential streets. These are the people who don't want marriage equality, not necessarily the D.C. residents, the people he's "fighting for" to vote on the issue.

Council member Marion Barry, one of two who voted against marriage equality, also has an interesting fact about his ward.

So far in D.C., 36 hate crimes have been reported in 2009, about the same rate as 2007 and 2008; however, a far majority of these have been based on sexual orientation - 31 as of September, 35 as of December.

Numbers can be debated. But one number can not: the rise in sexual orientation hate crimes in Wards 7 and 8 [police districts 6 and 7].

In 2008, 13 percent of sexual orientation hate crimes took place in these wards. So far in 2009, the number jumped to 32 percent.

On a side note, only two councilmembers---Yvette Alexander and Marion Barry---voted against the gay marriage bill. Who do they represent? Wards 7 and 8.

Interesting. You can make your own conclusions - don't want to jump for anyone else.

The first council vote on marriage equality was a success - another is scheduled for December 15 and is expected to pass. A rally is scheduled for Monday to show support.

WHAT: Rally for DC Marriage Equality
WHO: Campaign for All DC Families, DC Clergy United, co-hosted by the Human Rights Campaign
WHEN: Monday, December 14 starting at 7:00 p.m. ET.
WHERE: Kennedy Recreation Center at 1401 7th Street, Washington D.C. 20001

D.C. Marriage Equality Opponents File Lawsuit in an Attempt to Force Prop-8 Style Ballot Measure

Marriage equality opponents Bishop Harry Jackson and conservative group Alliance Defense Fund have filed a lawsuit against the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics who ruled Tuesday that a Prop 8-style initiative called the "Marriage Initiative of 2009", which would have defined marriage as between one man and one women for the District, could not proceed.

“The people of D.C. have a right to vote on the definition of marriage,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Austin R. Nimocks in their press release. “The D.C. Charter guarantees the people the right to vote, and the council cannot amend the charter for any reason, much less to deny citizens the right to vote. ADF will defend the right of the residents of our nation’s capitol to participate in a legitimate democratic process in the district.”

They're claiming that they are defending the rights of voters. Hmm . . . defending the rights of some to take away the rights of others. Brilliant logic!

In July, Bishop Jackson attempted to get an initiative started to thwart the District's bill to recognize legal same-sex marriage performed outside its borders. Both the board and DC Superior Court Judge Retchin ruled against them, basing their decision on the District's Human Rights Act which bars discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Today the Washington Post released a profile on Bishop Jackson, in which he admits that he always knew that the battle of the new bill to legalize marriage equality within D.C. itself would head to the Superior Court. "The Lord is in all this," the bishop claims. "All over the country, it's evident that the strategy of the radical gay movement is to work the courts and legislatures. It's gonna be a knock-down, drag-out legal situation."

This should raise some red flags. Back in July, when the bishop and fellow opponents lost their case in D.C.'s Superior Court, they opted out of appealing to the D.C. Court of Appeals. Yet it seems clear that they intend to this time and this could be biggest hurdle facing the District's marriage bill.

Back in 1995, it was this court that ruled in Dean vs. the District of Columbia against granting a gay couple a marriage license. Yet Superior Court Judge Retchin stated in her July ruling, "The Court in Dean did not consider whether the government could refuse to recognize the legal right of persons to remain married solely because of their sexual orientation. In fact, the Court in Dean could not have addressed this issue because when Dean was decided in 1995, no state had legalized same-sex marriage."

Hopefully the D.C. Court of Appeals agrees.

Further into the Washington Post piece, Bishop Jackson reiterates the illogical conclusions that the high crime and divorce rates in the African American community, which he claims undermines traditional family values, is due largely in part by abortions and gay marriages.

"I don't know of anybody black who says, 'I hate gay people.' We're more accepting generally. But you overlap that -- homosexuality and gay marriage -- with broken families, and we don't know how to put it back together."

OK. So my desire to marry my fiance is going to destroy family after family? My desire to have a family of my own is going to rip apart other families in D.C. and other parts of the country because . . . well, he doesn't really say. I understand that many men in the African American community are on the down-low, which sadly has caused many problems, including broken families and the spread of HIV. But this problem is completely separate from out gay couples wanting to make a lifetime, legally recognized commitment to their relationship. The bishop continues with some shoddy spinning by quipping that redefining marriage redefines family, which will send the black culture into a free fall.

But what the bishop ignores is the fact that same-sex couples have existed for thousands of years, and they have had families this entire time. Where's the destruction of society? Just because the LGBT civil rights movement has made the country more aware of their existence, doesn't mean they suddenly appeared out of nowhere and are a new, impending threat to what he calls "traditional values."

And if I remember correctly, we're not the ones that redefined marriage in the law books of 31 states as "between one man and one woman." Before, this distinction wasn't made, which is why same-sex couples demanded marriage certificates and why the courts ordered they be given. It took anti-LGBT forces to redefine the legal, civil definition of marriage, to actively bar LGBT citizens from marrying.

Just saying.

VIDEO: Pastors Rant Against D.C.'s Marriage Equality Bill at Sunday Protest

On Sunday, a day before two scheduled hearings on D.C.'s proposed marriage equality bill, anti-LGBT forces protested its possible passage. (Watch the City Council's hearing live taking place today until 9pm EST)

Maryland's Bishop Harry Jackson, long-time opponent to any progress in D.C., and pastor Matt Anderson made appearances.



So, I would like to ask these pastors - I took care of my flu-ridden partner this weekend, making sure he felt as comfortable as he could, doting on him while taking care of the chores.

Is this an abomination?

Washington D.C. Marriage Equality Hearing Expects 269 People to Testify

Due to D.C. Councilman David Catania submitting a marriage equality bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the nation's capital, several hearings on marriage equality will be held in Washington D.C. in the coming weeks, two to be held this Monday, October 26.

First on Monday, starting at 10am, marriage equality opponents led by Maryland's Bishop Harry Jackson and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), will speak at the D.C.'s Board of Elections & Ethics hearing, urging them to grant their request for a Prop 8 style ballot initiative so that D.C. residents can vote on whether or not to allow same-sex marriage to be performed. (Get info to attend!)

When the City Council voted in May to recognize legal same-sex marriages performed outside its borders, Bishop Jackson failed to get an initiative off the ground to stop them, with the same Elections board turning him down. This time, he wants to avoid the marriages being performed in the District at all.

Jackson has faced harsh criticism for meddling in the District's affairs and not even being a resident.

At 3:30pm the City Council will begin one of two separate public hearings on the marriage equality bill itself (not to consider an initiative). Due to over 269 witnesses on both sides expected to testify, and with it being the largest public hearing since City Council member Phil Mendelson can remember, the board has decided to split the hearing in two, the second being on Monday, November 2.

This Monday's hearing will have the first 100 testimonies.

The DCist reports that each speaker will only get 3 minutes each. As for this Monday, "Bob Summersgill and Rick Rosendall, two local gay rights activists, open up the proceedings. Bob King, the Ward 5 ANC commissioner who has been part of the push for a referendum goes 7th, followed by Kathryn Pearson-West, a resident who has strongly sided with the pro-referendum forces in repeated postings to local online newsletters. Our favorite, Bishop Harry Jackson, will speak 14th, while influential gay Ward 8 activist Phil Pannell goes in the #45 slot. As for organizational showing, the Human Rights Campaign is flexing some muscle with six of the 100 testimonies."

The Council’s Committee on Public Safety & Judiciary will hold the hearing in the City Council chambers on the fifth floor of the John Wilson City Hall Building at 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.

Co-Chairs of D.C. for Marriage Michael Crawford and Hilary Treat wrote to members and residents, "Anti-equality activists led by National Organization for Marriage are pressuring members of the City Council to support a Prop 8 style ballot fight to ban marriage for same-sex couples. That makes telling our stories all the more important. By sharing our stories, we'll be making the most powerful case for marriage equality yet."

If you plan to attend and support marriage equality, show your support by wearing red.