MW story on Board of Elections ruling

Metro Weekly reports on this week's ruling by the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics against the proposed "Marriage Initiative of 2009":

"We have considered all of the testimony presented to the Board and understand the desire to place this question on the ballot," said Board Chairman Errol R. Arthur. "However, the laws of the District of Columbia preclude us from allowing this initiative to move forward."

Local activist Bob Summersgill said that action was expected.

"They really had very little leeway," he says of BOEE's decision. "[Nearly] everyone who testified on either side agreed that [the initiative] was to increase discrimination against gay people."

Summersgill said the decision would likely be "very quickly appealed by Rev. Jackson and his friends," but unlikely to see much success given the clarity of the District's anti-discrimination law and the stated aim of the initiative.