As I mentioned here , last week a rally was held by African-American ministers to protest same sex marriage legislation in Washington, D.C. The issue is now front page news with a Washington Post article titled, ” Uproar in D.C. as Same-Sex Marriage Gains “:
The D.C. Council overwhelmingly approved a bill yesterday to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, in a vote that followed a sharp exchange between an openly gay member and a civil rights champion and set off shouts of reproach from local ministers.The council passed the measure by a vote of 12 to 1. During the debate, council member David A. Catania (I-At Large) accused Marion Barry (D-Ward 8), who cast the dissenting vote, of having taken a “bigoted” position.
Marion Barry started out as a co-sponsor of the legislation but his position “evolved.” The Post describes Marion Barry, as “a prominent figure during the civil rights movement,” and reports that he “agonized” over whether to oppose the bill but that he decided to stand with the “ministers who stand on the moral compass of God.” Barry, of course, is a former mayor of D.C. with considerable problems in his own past, having served time after being busted on drug charges in 1990 while serving as the city’s second elected mayor.
But Barry is the comeback kid, having served a second term as Mayor in the late 1990s. He knows you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. “I am representing my constituents,” said Barry, who later told reporters that “98 percent of my constituents are black, and we don’t have but a handful of openly gay residents.”
Hoya fans might recognize Councilman Catania, a Georgetown alumnus, as first lecturer at the first ever Lavender Graduation Ceremony at Georgetown, a “ceremony honors graduating gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (GLTB) students and recognizes their achievements and contributions to the university.” After the vote, Catalina accused Barry of supporting bigotry, with Barry firing back, saying he knows what bigotry is all about being African American. Catalina replied that he was not saying that Barry was a bigot but that he was merely supporting bigotry. And so on.
Following the vote, we are told, “enraged African American ministers stormed the hallway outside the council chambers and vowed that they will work to oust the members who supported the bill.” ”All hell is going to break lose,” Barry said. “We may have a civil war. The black community is just adamant against this.”
Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of Washington, the Post tells us, issued a statement criticizing yesterday’s vote as showing “a lack of understanding of the true meaning of marriage.” Georgetown University, just in case you are not aware, is a Catholic University “in the Jesuit tradition” located in Washington, D.C.
You just can’t make this stuff up.
