Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, DC
P.O. Box 75265
Washington, D.C. 20013
For Release:
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Contact: Rick Rosendall
202-667-5139
True Radicals Defeated as Marriage Equality Reaches D.C.
The following statement is by Mitch Wood, President of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance:
"The achievement of civil marriage equality in the District of Columbia is the fruit of decades of public advocacy and organizing by gay citizens and our numerous allies. Because our opponents have spread many falsehoods in an effort to divide our city, we must set the record straight —
even as we count down the hours until the Marriage Bureau at D.C. Superior Court opens for business on March 3.
"Bishop Harry Jackson, pastor of a suburban Maryland church and a leading opponent of the bill, has repeatedly cried 'Let the people vote!' which ignores the fact that Washingtonians have consistently elected gay-affirming candidates for D.C. Council and Mayor and rejected those who ran anti-gay campaigns. (We note, for example, the resounding defeat in 2006 of mayoral candidate Vincent Orange after he called his rivals unfit for office because of their support for marriage equality.) The fact is that Mayor Fenty and every Council member who voted with us has faced the voters at least once since publicly pledging support for same-sex marriage rights.
"The United States has a representative form of government. Jackson's attempt to usurp the D.C. Council's authority to revise the marriage law is a ruse to launch a divisive campaign funded by right-wing groups seeking to polarize Washingtonians of different backgrounds. Groups like Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, and the National Organization for Marriage, which funded Jackson's group Stand for Marriage DC, ignore the real problems of joblessness, home foreclosures, crime, lack of health insurance, and educational inequities, and rather than seek solutions to serve the common good, they dangerously stoke social discord that helps no one.
"Bishop Jackson dishonors those who gave their lives fighting for voting rights when he equates the voting franchise with his campaign to deny other people's rights to due process. He adds insult to injury by urging Congress and the courts to overturn legislation properly enacted by the people's duly elected representatives. If Jackson truly cares about D.C. voting rights, he should join Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton in working for full voting representation for the District in Congress.