DC Superior Court Rejects Referendum On Marriage

Hater heterosexual supremacist lose another one! Last Thursday, a D.C. Superior Court judge ruled that opponents of same-sex marriage do not have the right to force a popular vote which could repeal the fundamental right to marry for same-sex couples in the nation's capital.

The Washington Post summarizes:

The decision, a major victory for gay rights activists, makes it more likely that the District will begin allowing same-sex couples to marry in March.

In the 23-page ruling, Judge Judith N. Macaluso affirmed a D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics decision that city law disallows the ballot proposal because it would promote discrimination against gay men and lesbians. Macaluso also concluded that previous court decisions outlawing same-sex marriage in the District are no longer valid.

[..]

The election board has twice ruled that a referendum on same-sex marriage would violate a city election law prohibiting such a vote on a matter covered by the Human Rights Act, which outlaws discrimination against gays and other minority groups.

MadProfessah has been closely following the status of the fight for marriage equality in the District of Columbia, which would become the first majority-Black jurisdiction in the United States to allow same-sex couples to marry, as well as the first state in the Southern United States to do so. Thus the vote to enact marriage equality by the DC Council made by list of the Top 10 Most Significant LGBT Events of 2009.

LawDork has uploaded the full text of the judicial decision here.

Hat/tip to Rod 2.0.