There's too much backroom dealing going on with gay marriage in DC. Two opposing factions, the DC Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA) on one side and a group of "activists" (who are they?) on the other side led by Lane Hudson have been influencing or seeking to influence the time line for pushing for marriage equality here, according to today's Blade.
Meanwhile the Mayor (who supports gay marriage) has asked for a dialogue, although it's not clear exactly who he wants to dialogue with.
Enough with the backroom deals. No one elected GLAA or Lane Hudson and a decision about whether it's wise to pursue SSM in DC needs to be made out in the open.
Personally, as I've argued in this space previously, we should move forward. I don't buy GLAA's overly cautious approach to pursing equal civil rights. Martin Luther King didn't say, well, there's too much racism for it to be safe for us to protest, so let's just stay home and mind our manners.
Besides the worse thing that could happen -- Congress intervening and overturning same sex marriage if the council passes it -- keeps us at the status quo. GLAA argues it would set us back a dozen years, but the criteria they've set forth as making it acceptable to pursue SSM likely won't be achieved for another decade anyway. So if we lose we're in the same place as if we do nothing. That seems low risk to me.
So -- bring this out in the open. Let the Council propose it and let it be openly debated. Let the gay activists come forward and make their cases for and against. Let our elected officials decide if this is a wise time to go forward, and not let a few whispering back room 'fraidy-cats take it off the table without open debate.
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