Local
Church groups are biggest donors to D.C. marriage ban effort
Two religious groups linked to Bishop Harry Jackson’s church in Beltsville, Md., have provided more than $102,000 in contributions to his campaign to ban same-sex marriage in D.C.
Contributions from the High Impact Leadership Coalition and Christian Hope Ministries-High Impact comprise slightly more than half of the $199,530 raised as of Jan. 31 to fight the city’s same-sex marriage law, according to reports filed with the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance.
Nearly all of the $97,338 that reports show were contributed by other donors came from national anti-gay groups, including Focus on the Family, Family Research Council Action, the group’s political arm and the National Organization for Marriage.
The reports show Jackson gave $100 of his own money to two of the three committees he formed to ban same-sex marriage in the District. FRC official Chuck Donavan of Manassas, Va., and NOM executive director Brian Brown of Great Falls, Va., each made individual contributions of $50 to one of the three committees.
“No donations are from D.C. residents, unless you believe Harry Jackson actually lives in D.C.,” said gay activist Bob Summersgill, one of the leaders of the city’s same-sex marriage effort.
Summersgill was referring to allegations that Jackson and his wife continue to live in their home in Silver Spring, Md., and use a rented apartment in Southeast D.C. near the Washington Nationals stadium as an address to maintain D.C. residency.
City records show that Jackson registered to vote in the District for the first time on April 22, shortly before he filed papers for the first of three ballot measures he has proposed to ban same-sex marriage in D.C.
In response to a complaint challenging his city residency, local officials ruled last year that Jackson’s D.C. apartment and his D.C. driver’s license, among other factors, were sufficient proof that he met the requirements for city residency.
Neither Jackson nor a spokesperson for his church returned calls this week seeking comment for this story.
The Office of Campaign Finance reports show that one of the committees established by Jackson, Stand for Marriage D.C. Initiative, sought to place a voter initiative on the ballot that would ban same-sex marriage. The second committee, Stand for Marriage D.C. Referendum, sought a voter referendum on the issue, and the third one, Stand4MarriageDC, sought to prevent the City Council from passing a same-sex marriage bill.
Finance reports show the three committees spent a total of $146,499 as of Jan. 31 in those efforts. According to the reports, the money was partly used to hire two prominent public relations firms to build support for a ballot measure and to retain a law firm to challenge rulings against a ballot measure.
One of the public relations firms, Schubert Flint Public Affairs, worked on the 2008 Proposition 8 campaign in California, which succeeded in banning gay marriage. It also assisted the successful ballot measure campaign in Maine in November, which resulted in overturning that state’s gay marriage law.
Summersgill and other local activists were quick to note that Jackson and his supporters have so far lost on all three fronts, with the D.C. Council passing the Religious Freedom & Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009 in December and the D.C. Board of Elections & Ethics and two judges ruling against Jackson’s call for a ballot measure.
The same-sex marriage bill the City Council passed and Mayor Adrian Fenty signed is expected to clear its congressional review and become law the first week of March.
“What’s Harry Jackson getting for his money?” Summersgill asked on the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance blog, GLAA Forum. “All of his efforts have been for nothing.”
Jackson and his supporters have argued the campaigns opposing same-sex marriage have galvanized city residents who are said to be outraged that they’ve been unable to directly decide on the issue through a ballot measure.
A Washington Post poll released two weeks ago appears to partially support the claim. While the poll shows that 56 percent of city residents surveyed support legalizing same-sex marriage in the District, it also shows that 59 percent favor allowing voters to decide on the issue through a ballot measure.
Last year, Jackson and his local supporters disputed claims by marriage equality advocates that same-sex marriage opponents are dominated by non-D.C. residents. Jackson and his backers have said a large number of D.C. residents, including many of the city’s black clergy, have joined the campaign to allow the city’s voters to decide directly whether gay marriage should be legal.
LGBT activists have argued, however, that many of the clergy helping Jackson are from the Maryland and Virginia suburbs. They note that more than 100 D.C. clergy members have joined forces to support the same-sex marriage bill.
The election board has ruled three times since last spring that a ballot measure seeking to ban same-sex marriage in the city cannot be held because it would violate the D.C. Human Rights Act, which bans discrimination based on sexual orientation. Two D.C. Superior Court judges have upheld the board’s rulings.
The board considered Tuesday yet another proposed ballot measure — this time an initiative seeking to ban gay marriage proposed by Ward 8 civic activist Joyce Little. It was not immediately clear when the board would rule on the issue.
High Impact Leadership Coalition and Christian Hope Ministries-High Impact are components of the Beltsville-based Hope Christian Church, where Jackson serves as senior pastor. His wife, Vivian Michelle Jackson, is listed on the church web site as executive pastor.
The church’s web site describes the High Impact Leadership Coalition as a non-profit, tax-exempt group that “exists to protect the moral compass of America and to be an agent of healing to our nation by educating and empowering churches, community and political leaders.”
The web site does not disclose the tax status of Christian Hope Ministries-High Impact, but its listing as an arm of the church suggests that it also has a tax exemption under the Internal Revenue Service 501(c)(3) provision.
IRS rules prohibit tax-exempt religious organizations from engaging in partisan political campaigns on behalf of candidates running for public office. But the rules allow religious groups to become involved in some lobbying for or against proposed laws — including voter initiatives or referenda — as long as the lobbying is not a “substantial” part of their overall activity or expenditure of funds.
Neither Jackson nor a spokesperson for High Impact Leadership Coalition or Christian Hope Ministries group could be reached this week to determine the size of the two groups’ budgets or expenditure of funds. Neither group is listed by the non-profit watchdog organization Guidestar.org as having filed an IRS 990 public disclosure form that is required for most, but not all, tax-exempt organizations.
Without knowing the overall budget of the two groups, it could not be determined whether they are in compliance with or in violation of the IRS rules barring “substantial” lobbying activity by such groups. IRS rules stipulate that any “religious organization that engages in excessive lobbying activity over a four-year period” could lose its tax-exempt status.
Summersgill said he was considering filing a citizen request with the IRS calling for an investigation into the two groups.
Maryland
Originally charged with hate crimes, Salisbury University students now face misdemeanor charges
Suspects allegedly attacked man they met on Grindr
The first three Salisbury University students charged in an attack on a man they allegedly lured to an off-campus apartment using a dating app are set to stand trial this week.
Dylan Pietuszka, 20, Logan Clark, 20, and Sean Antone, 19, are among the 15 Salisbury students who in early November were taken into custody in connection with the attack and charged with hate crimes.
All three men standing trial this week are only facing two charges: Second degree assault and false imprisonment, which are both misdemeanors.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
D.C. police seek help in Dupont Circle murder probe
Records show victim was arrested three times for area assaults
D.C. police are seeking help from the public in their investigation into the Dec. 30 Dupont Circle stabbing death of a 36-year-old man who had been arrested at least three times between 2016 and 2023 for assault related incidents in the neighborhood, according to police and court records.
A police announcement says D.C. police and U.S. Park Police officers responded at about 3:58 p.m. Monday, Dec. 30, 2024, to Dupont Circle for a report of a stabbing. It says an adult male later identified as Dominique Ratiff of Southeast D.C. was found unresponsive suffering from a stab wound.
According to the statement, he was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. Police said they have made no arrest in the case, but a police liaison officer told the Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commission that a suspect was described as a male wearing a purple beanie and baggy sweatpants leaving the scene on a bicycle on New Hampshire Avenue, N.W.
Police have said the stabbing occurred at the western side of Dupont Circle that intersects with Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. near the CVS Pharmacy and a PNC Bank.
Court records show that Ratiff was first arrested on June 2, 2016, on a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon and simple assault for allegedly hitting a woman with his walking cane following a “verbal altercation” in Dupont Circle.
D.C. Superior Court records show he was arrested again on June 15, 2016, for allegedly repeatedly punching a homeless man outside the man’s tent near 901 27th St., N.W., while wearing boxing gloves. That incident did not occur at Dupont Circle, but court records show prosecutors combined that case with the earlier assault case against the woman.
The records show both cases were dismissed by a judge after Ratiff complied with his pre-trial release requirements and successfully completed a “mental health” diversion program.
Records show Ratiff’s third arrest took place on April 16, 2022, when he was charged with Robbery Force and Violence, Theft Second-Degree, and Simple Assault for allegedly pushing a male victim against the wall outside of the CVS Pharmacy at Dupont Circle and taking money from the man after threatening to stab him.
Again, court records show all charges were dismissed against Ratiff after he complied with his pre-trial release requirements and successfully completed a court diversion program that included community service.
His fourth arrest occurred on July 18, 2023, court records show, when he was charged with Unlawful Entry-Private Property and Simple Assault for allegedly entering the CVS Pharmacy at Dupont Circle after having been barred from the premises one year earlier and assaulting a CVS manager who told him he had to leave.
The records show that a remote “citation” hearing was held on Aug. 9, 2023, which Ratiff attended with his attorney. According to the records, a judge ordered him to return to court on Sept. 20, 2023, for an arraignment and a judicial summons with the order was mailed to his address at 2863 Denver St., S.E.
The summons was returned as “undeliverable” on Aug. 22, 2023, and Ratiff failed to appear at the Sept. 20 hearing, the records show, prompting the judge to issue a bench warrant for his arrest. But the records show no further action, such as an arrest, had taken place and authorities did not learn of Ratiff’s whereabouts until the time he was found fatally stabbed in Dupont Circle.
Gay Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Vincent Slatt has called Ratiff’s murder a tragedy that possibly could have been prevented by better social services programs that Slatt said could have been arranged by the court system.
“This guy had gone through the system multiple times, and the social services have failed him,” Slatt told the Washington Blade. “And it resulted in him getting killed.”
Slatt added, “So, he was in several of these deferment programs. But ultimately, he still needed the social services, and it cost him his life,” Slatt said. “This is an indication that we need to improve our social services. And these people are falling through the cracks.”
D.C. police are offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Ratiff’s murder. Anyone with information that could help in the investigation is asked to call the police Homicide Branch at 202-645-9600.
Virginia
Va. Senate approves resolution to repeal marriage amendment
Two successive legislatures must approve proposal before it goes to voters
The Virginia Senate on Tuesday approved a resolution that seeks to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
The resolution that state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) introduced passed by a 24-15 vote margin. An identical measure that state Del. Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax County) has proposed passed in the Virginia House of Delegates last week.
Sickles and Ebbin are both gay.
Voters approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment in 2006.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin last year signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
The General Assembly in 2021 approved a resolution that seeks to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment. It must pass in two successive legislatures before it can go to the ballot.
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