DC Reject Referendum on Marriage

The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics today rejected a petition to hold a referendum on the issue of legalizing same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia. The petition was filed by an anti-same-sex marriage coalition led by Bishop Harry Jackson.

In an opinion released today, the Board made much the same argument that it did in a previous decision that barred a ballot initiative on the matter of recognizing same-sex marriages that are performed legally in other jurisdictions. In both decisions, the Board held that such initiatives do ‘not present a proper subject of initiative because it would authorize discrimination prohibited under the Human Rights Act (“HRA”).’ You can download the entire decision here.

The Board’s reasoning in today’s decision also turns on the existing law established by the Jury and Marriage Amendment Act of 2009, the one that allows the District to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. The relevant passage:

Under current law, the District recognizes same-sex marriages validly performed in other jurisdictions. The proposed Initiative seeks to prohibit the District from continuing to recognize these same-sex marriages. The Initiative instructs that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in the District of Columbia.” Read more