DC for Marriage

so romantic... and exactly what we are fighting for

I was there. I almost cried.

contrary to media reports, portions of maine are very issolated. the people are bigots and there's a ton of alcoholism

This is what I understand to be true…same-gender marriage has 10 co-sponsors on a 13 member DC Council and is therefore expected to pass next week. As with any newly passed DC Act, Congress has the power to prohibit it from becoming DC Law within a 30-Day Review Period. It’s therefore critical to have the record reflect overwhelming support for marriage equality. I’m writing to ask you to submit a written testimony to become a permanent record of the bill. Will you, please?

Here is a suggested format for you to follow.

Intro: Testimony by Your Name on Bill 18-482, Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009 before the Committee on Public Service and the Judiciary on Today’s Date... Read More

1. Universally thank the bill’s introducers 2. Briefly tell your story and stance 3. Ask the Council to pass the bill 4. Close with your contact information, including address, phone and email

Emails count as equally as paper letters.

dkelly@dccouncil.us
Ms. Deborah Kelly, Secretary to the Council John A. Wilson Building 1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Room 5 Washington DC 20004

These testimonies will be accepted up until 5 PM on Monday, 11/9/09. It makes no difference whether you reside in DC, and each voice has equal representation.

Whether you’re motivated by successes in places like Iowa or disheartened by temporary set-backs in places like Maine, please see this as your chance to be heard. It matters. It sure as hell matters to whether you’ll ever get an invite to my DC wedding.

Yours in the struggle for equal treatment under state and federal law for all people, Adam

Thanks for the reminder, Adam. I'm writing the Council now!

I'm writing too!

paws up! proud to be a unitarian pup. woof!

It was a truly amazing service tht has re-invigorated my faith that the church CAN be a progressive and affirming community! I am glad I was there to share in the love and support of so many fabulous people of faith!

I disagree. By allowing them to pack the referendum hearing, opponents of marriage equality managed to present at least an APPEARANCE of very strong support within the city for a public referendum, and that will not go unnoticed by Congress. I'm not sure that Congress will directly overturn the Marriage Equality amendment, but forcing a ... Read Morereferendum could very well amount to the same thing without them getting their hands quite as dirty. It will be much more politically expedient for them to force a referendum if it appears that there is strong support for one, and they could do so regardless of whether or not it violates our human rights ordinance.

BTW the Washington Times covered the hearings but stressed the lopsided anti-marriage testimony at the referendum hearing, without saying anything about the huge number of pro-marriage equality witnesses at the other hearing. I know, not exactly the most objective source, but again a big part of this is about appearances and perceptions. I can see a conservative member of Congress waving the Washington Times article to cite support within the city for a referendum, and not even being aware of the other hearing and how strongly it showed support for marriage equality.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/27/debating-gay-marriage/#at

This is what I understand to be true…same-gender marriage has 10 co-sponsors on a 13 member DC Council and is therefore expected to pass next week. As with any newly passed DC Act, Congress has the power to prohibit it from becoming DC Law within a 30-Day Review Period. It’s therefore critical to have the record reflect overwhelming support for marriage equality. I’m writing to ask you to submit a written testimony to become a permanent record of the bill. Will you, please?

Here is a suggested format for you to follow.

Intro: Testimony by Your Name on Bill 18-482, Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009 before the Committee on Public Service and the Judiciary on Today’s Date... Read More

1. Universally thank the bill’s introducers 2. Briefly tell your story and stance 3. Ask the Council to pass the bill 4. Close with your contact information, including address, phone and email

Emails count as equally as paper letters.

dkelly@dccouncil.us
Ms. Deborah Kelly, Secretary to the Council John A. Wilson Building 1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Room 5 Washington DC 20004

These testimonies will be accepted up until 5 PM on Monday, 11/9/09. It makes no difference whether you reside in DC, and each voice has equal representation.

Whether you’re motivated by successes in places like Iowa or disheartened by temporary set-backs in places like Maine, please see this as your chance to be heard. It matters. It sure as hell matters to whether you’ll ever get an invite to my DC wedding.

Yours in the struggle for equal treatment under state and federal law for all people, Adam

This is better coverage than the Fox one, by far!

of course it is!

So, how did yesterday go?? I was in Canada at my GF's best friend's wedding. . .two womyn were LEGALLY married. . and I cried because I had to cross an international border to see it. . ::sigh::

99% of the arguments against same-sex civil marriage are purely religious in nature (and some of the opponents are truly crazy). In a nutshell, the arguments are (1) it goes against with my religious beliefs and (2) I won't be able to discriminate against gay people. So how do we convince these people that their Christian beliefs should not be the basis of our civil laws?

The hearing continues Monday, Nov. 2 and with 170 more witnesses scheduled to testify, it's going to be a looong day...

Nobody Asked for My Opinion....BUT. The support of government-sponsored opposition to same-gender marriage, along with all of the other derisive and discriminatory legislation vs the LGBT community (DOMA, Don't Ask; Don't Tell, the freedom to fire LGBT employees in certain states, refusal to pass hate crime laws) is nothing but one more centuries-... Read Moreold 'Divide-and-Conquer' tactic to bring money and power and wealth into the coffers of those organizations who propogate such self-serving and unfair practices for their own benefit (not to mention the political gains as in the 2004 elections....and look at the mess that caused). It's not about what the Bible actually says. The Bible condemns the raping and wickedness of Sodom toward strangers as it should. Not the same-gender-loving families who have children and who love and respect and care for each other as this bill will protect. We're comparing apples and oranges here. And those who study and know the Bible are perfectly aware of that along with the Blibical references to same-gender sex for purposes of paganistic rituals. However admitting such differences would be costly because there would be no FEAR FACTOR remaining for them to scare all of those followers into bringing their money in droves to fill those hungry coffers. And sadly too many 'believers' fall for all of this because our clergy wouldn't knowingly lie to us. Would they? We're not speaking about ALL clergy, mind you. There are many clergy in DC as will soon be evident who admit the differences and who support same-gender marriage and all other forms of equality in government as well as in religion all across America. Those clergy are the ones we should gravitate toward and believe in. Those are the ones who are preaching the true word and love of God. For the benefit of society, not for the benefit of filling their pocket books. I personally wouldn't miss the chance to actively eliminate this last fragment of bigotry and hatefulness and discrimination from the laws of our city for anything and I encourage everyone to consider joining us. But THAT is JUST MY OPINION.... ~ Terry (www.NobodyAskedForMyOpinionBut.com).

Please remind Bishop Jackson and Brian Brown of NOM to respect DC's Board of Elections & Ethics rules!

♥ ♥ ♥

Wow, way to just steal the DC Council live feed and slap you logo on it, Metro Weekly.