Marriage Recognition Comes to DC... But is There a Political Cost?

In a move likely to rile the anti-gay marriage Right and present problems for the Democrats in Congress, the Washington, D.C. City Council voted to approve recognition of same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. While a strong move for marriage equality, it gives the Right Wing an excuse to rally around one of the few issues they hold an edge in nationally. Yes, it is a big battle to win, but there are two possible scenarios that could set back the overall war. Let's hope the political strategists know what they are talking about, because the third possibility could be just what is needed.

The legal part of the D.C. council-passed ordinance is that it must be signed by the mayor, and then Congress has 30 days to overturn it. As the District of Columbia is ultimately governed by the United States, Congress has to vote in both houses to overturn the ordinance and the President must sign that overturning into law. The likelihood of that happening is not good, particularly since President Obama is not likely to overturn the ordinance.

The first possible long-term outcome is that Congress actually rallies enough Representatives and Senators to vote to overturn the rule and now the forces of marriage equality are weakened in a lot of other states even if the DC rule stands because of a veto. A showing of a majority of Congress opposing gay marriage would hurt. The second possibility is that the measure to overturn gets defeated in Congress, and now members of Congress sympathetic to marriage equality are defeated in the 2010 elections.

But now the third possibility could yield substantial political gains. Right now, the far-right conservatives are on the ropes, and the more they push the old agenda to make the religious right happy, the more they look like fringe radicals. If the marriage recognition ordinance gets them riled up and the rest of the country sees them as fringe radicals on this issue, then there is a potential for some huge gains by having their allies in Congress lose seats in 2010. But it is a pretty big gamble.

As for what actual rights marriage equality in DC brings, that will be the next blog (hopefully tomorrow if I have a signal strong enough to post it). But as I've said many times, relying on state law rarely gives partners everything they want. The only way to get everything partners want that is legally possible is through partner protection planning. For more information, please download the complimentary e-book The Gay Marriage Alternative at www.gaymarriagealternative.com.

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