Crack mayor’ sniffs at gay marriage/Mr. Barry's Ugly Words - The D.C. Council member chose politics over principle in a vote against recognizing same-

Uproar in D.C. as Same-Sex Marriage Gains
By Tim Craig
Copyright by The Washington Post
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/05/AR2009050501618.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter


The D.C. Council overwhelmingly approved a bill yesterday to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, in a vote that followed a sharp exchange between an openly gay member and a civil rights champion and set off shouts of reproach from local ministers.

The council passed the measure by a vote of 12 to 1. During the debate, council member David A. Catania (I-At Large) accused Marion Barry (D-Ward 8), who cast the dissenting vote, of having taken a "bigoted" position.

After the vote, enraged African American ministers stormed the hallway outside the council chambers and vowed that they will work to oust the members who supported the bill, which was sponsored by Phil Mendelson (D-At Large). They caused such an uproar that security officers and D.C. police were called in to clear the hallway.

Yesterday's action could be a precursor to a debate later this year over whether to legalize same-sex marriage in the city. "There is no turning back," said Catania, who plans to introduce a broader gay marriage bill in a few months.

Barry, who said he supports gay rights and civil unions, warned after the vote that the District could erupt if the council does not proceed slowly on same-sex marriage.

"All hell is going to break lose," Barry said. "We may have a civil war. The black community is just adamant against this."

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) has said he will sign the bill recognizing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. The council's action puts the matter before Congress, which under the Home Rule Charter has 30 days to review District legislation. The bill could present the House and Senate with their biggest test on the same-sex marriage issue since Congress approved the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.

At least one GOP member said yesterday that he will try to block the bill from becoming law.

"Some things are worth fighting for, and this is one of them," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah), the ranking Republican on a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee that oversees the District. "It's not something I can let go softly into the night. . . . I recognize the Democrats are in the majority, but I represent the majority of Americans on this issue."

Several council members and gay rights advocates are hopeful that the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate will be able to stop congressional intervention.

"I do not believe that a serious attempt to overturn the council bill will be made or will be successful," said Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), who praised the council's decision.

But the emotional debate that took place yesterday at the Wilson Building suggests that the issue could be divisive in a city with a long history of racial tension in politics.

Barry, a prominent figure during the civil rights movement, said that he "agonized" over whether to oppose the bill but that he decided to stand with the "ministers who stand on the moral compass of God."

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D.C. Votes to Recognize Gay Marriage
Barry Warns of "Civil War" Over Same-Sex Marriage
Uproar in D.C. as Same-Sex Marriage Gains
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"I am representing my constituents," said Barry, who later told reporters that "98 percent of my constituents are black, and we don't have but a handful of openly gay residents."

Civic activist Philip Pannell, who is openly gay and lives in Ward 8, called Barry's remarks offensive. "He of all people, coming out of the civil rights movement, should understand the need to fight for the rights of all minorities to be protected," Pannell said.

Catania and Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) are the two openly gay members of the council, and Catania made it clear that he took offense at Barry's stance.

"This issue is whether or not our colleagues, on a personal level, view me and Jim Graham as your equals," Catania said, "if we are permitted the same rights and responsibilities and obligations as our colleagues. So this is personal. This is acknowledging our families as much as we acknowledge yours."

Barry, visibly upset, fired back that he has been a supporter of gay rights since the 1970s.

"I understand this is personal to you and Mr. Graham. I understand because I have been discriminated against," Barry said. ". . . I resent Mr. Catania saying either you are a bigot or against bigotry, as though this particular legislation represents all of that."

Catania replied: "Your position is bigoted. I don't think you are."

The tenor of the debate was equally heated outside the council chamber.

"We need a new council. They are destroying our youth," a same-sex marriage opponent, Paul Trantham of Southeast Washington, shouted in the hallway during the ruckus. "Every minister who fears God should be here. This is disrespectful to the nation's capital. There is nothing equal about same-sex marriage."

This week, more than 100 black ministers signed a letter to Fenty opposing the measure.

Council member Yvette M. Alexander (D-Ward 7) accused some of the black ministers of questioning her religious commitment and threatening to unseat council members who supported the bill. "The ministers have really upset me to a point they have questioned my Christianity, they have questioned my morality," Alexander said.

The Archdiocese of Washington issued a statement criticizing yesterday's vote as showing "a lack of understanding of the true meaning of marriage."

Outside the Wilson Building, Steven Gorman of Crestwood in Northwest Washington stood quietly holding a "marriage equality" sign. "I've been out for 25 years, and I've been battling for 25 years," said Gorman, who married his partner last summer in California. "This is not over, but we are winning."

Staff writers Hamil R. Harris and Paul Kane contributed to this report.





‘Crack mayor’ sniffs at gay marriage
By Clarence Page
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
Originally posted: May 8, 2009
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/pagespage/2009/05/crack-mayor-sniffs-at-gay-marriage.html


When lawmakers in Maine and New Hampshire voted to legalize same-sex marriage last week, they overshadowed a District of Columbia breakthrough: An almost-unanimous city council vote to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I happen to support the right of gays and lesbians to marry one another. I’ve never understood the argument of gay marriage opponents that gay marriage will destroy marriage. My wife and I just celebrated our 22d anniversary, thank you very much, and we have yet to see gay marriages exert any ill effects.

Look at how much our marriage rate has dropped over the past half-century. Look at how our divorce rate has soared. We should be delighted that at least one group of Americans still wants to get married.

What caught my eye was the name of the man who cast the council’s single dissenting vote: Marion Barry.

Yes, I’m talking about the same Marion Barry who, back in 1990, was caught by FBI camera smoking crack in a District hotel room with a woman who was not his wife.

Yes, the same Marion Barry whose last words before the handcuffs were clicked behind his back, “The bitch set me up,” became a popular local T-shirt slogan.

Yes, the same Marion Barry who, after serving a misdemeanor charge in connection with the offense, was reelected mayor—once.

According to legend, he was the only mayor whose limousine bore license plates that he made himself.

He’s also, in case you didn’t know, a civil rights movement veteran with an admirable history of supporting gay rights and gay community issues.

He even has his name on the gay marriage bill that he voted against.

So why would he vote against the bill?

Because of an "agonizing and difficult decision," he said, that he made after praying and consulting with his constituents and the religious community. Right.

I think he just likes to be a contrarian. He saw that the other dozen members were all going to vote one way, he just had to vote the other way.

Particularly disappointed in Barry’s vote was his long-time friend David Catania, one of two openly gay D.C. Council members.

No hard feelings, he said on a local public radio station before uttering a T-shirt-worthy line of his own.

“I want to do what Marion Barry has done four times,” he said. “I want to get married.”

Let him. Why should heterosexuals have all of the frustrations?

Clarence Page is a member of the Tribune's editorial board and blogs at chicagotribune.com/pagespage cptime@aol.com


Washington Post Editorial: Mr. Barry's Ugly Words - The D.C. Council member chose politics over principle in a vote against recognizing same-sex marriages.
Copyright by The Washington Post
Saturday, May 9, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/08/AR2009050803544.html


THE D.C. COUNCIL'S approval of a bill recognizing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere in the country was lopsided. Twelve of 13 members, including representatives of wards on both sides of the river, voted for the measure. So it was distressing to see the debate framed along racial, and troublingly divisive, lines.

"All hell is going to break loose," Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) told reporters after he cast the lone vote against the bill this week. "We may have a civil war. The black community is just adamant against this." Mr. Barry says the "civil war" comment was said in jest, but that doesn't erase the harm of his words. No doubt there are many African Americans who, for religious or other reasons, are opposed to recognizing marriage between people of the same sex. The same can be said of a lot of white people, but it's a certainty that there are people of all colors who see the right of gay men and lesbians to marry as a matter of justice and fairness.

Indeed, it was heartening to see council members facing election next year -- Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) comes to mind -- vote their principles in the face of a hostile audience threatening political retaliation. By contrast, Mr. Barry said he had to oppose the measure because he believed that is what his constituents wanted.

The District's action is part of a national tide granting gay men and lesbians their full rights as citizens. The same week that the District took its stand, legislatures in Maine and New Hampshire voted to legalize same-sex marriage. Maine Gov. John E. Baldacci (D) promptly signed the legislation; Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) did the same with the bill passed by the council, although the D.C. law must also clear the hurdle of congressional review. Democratic leaders in the House and Senate should make clear that they will brook no political interference with the District's home rule.

Throughout his career as an activist, school board member and mayor, Mr. Barry has supported gay rights, fighting the ouster of a gay schoolteacher and backing recognition of domestic partnerships. He thinks that record must be considered before judging his opposition to same-sex marriage, oblivious to the fact that it only makes his conduct that much more disappointing. It's expected that the council will soon be asked to take a bolder stand by legalizing same-sex unions in the District. We hope the ugliness that infused Mr. Barry's ill-chosen words won't be a part of that debate.