Comments on: D.C. marriage law engages fewer than predicted

By: Dave Whitfield

Dave Whitfield — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 10:32:44 +0000

The economic impact is lower because there were fewer marriages in the first year than were expected. Why was this? Well, for most of the first year, the anti-equality side was actively pursuing litigation which, had they prevailed, would have triggered a ballot referendum along the lines of Prop 8. At the same time, these anti-gay activists were pressuring the GOP-controlled House of Representative to include a provision mandating a ballot referendum in budget bills. Who would want to tie the knot when there is a threat that the marriage could be involuntarily dissolved?

So the anti-gay side threatens gay marriages with dissolution and then crows about the fact that fewer people got married than expected. And the Washington Blade plays right along.

By: laurelboy2

laurelboy2 — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:56:38 +0000

Peter, it wasn’t about equal rights – it was a “fad” the novelty of which has evaporated.

By: Peter Rosenstein

Peter Rosenstein — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:57:19 +0000

I am not quite sure what prompted this column but as the President of the Campaign for All DC Families, the organization that helped to coordinate the fight for marriage-equality in the District, I want to make it very clear that our work on behalf of marriage-equality in the District of Columbia was never based on economic advantage but rather on securing a basic civil and human right.

The Williams report, which I for one never believed, was also never a real consideration for any of the Councilmembers I spoke to that supported marriage-equality. The fact that passing marriage-equality in the District could possibly produce any economic advantage was merely a nice added benefit if it did happen.

The fight for marriage-equality is one that is important whether one couple or thousands decide to marry. We don’t look at the right to marry for heterosexual couples as to whether or not it boosts the economy and the fight for same-sex marriage is simply a fight for equality under civil law. The court cases which we won over the District’s right to have marriage-equality weren’t based on economics but rather on that civil right. Currently the marriage bureau doesn’t even differentiate or count how many of the marriage applications they receive that are between same-sex couples or heterosexual couples.

The fact that some florists or catering companies didn’t get some windfall after marriage-equality was passed could be interesting to some but we need to understand that it is irrelevant to the issue of civil and human rights.

By: laurelboy2

laurelboy2 — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 01:18:34 +0000

Wow. How revealing. All that drama and attention for what? And, I wonder how many of the ones who got married are still married? Love to see that figure… Civil unions, which everyone could have access to, would have worked just fine in DC and elsewhere.

By: D.C. marriage law engages fewer than predicted | Washington … | Marriage is Unique

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:24:15 +0000

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