Free Republic

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty will sign legislation Friday to legalize same-sex marriage in the District at a bill-signing ceremony so historic that his staff scrambled to find the perfect location Thursday. Would it be All Souls Unitarian Church, a Northwest house of worship known for its diversity, liberalism and welcoming of same-sex couples? Would it be Covenant Baptist Church, a predominantly black church in Southwest where husband-and-wife team of Dennis and Christine Wiley serve as co-pastors and support gay marriage? Or would it be a secular site? Late in the day, Katie Loughary, executive director at All Souls, said it...

The issue of legalizing same-sex marriages continues to be at the forefront of debate. On Tuesday the Californian Supreme Court upheld a referendum, Proposition 8, which modified the state constitution to restrict marriage to heterosexual couples. The referendum invalidated a previous decision by the state's Supreme Court that resulted in the legalization of same-sex marriage. In the weeks preceding the latest decision same-sex marriage was legalized in three states. As a result, five states now allow such marriages -- Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Iowa. As a May 27 article in the Washington Post pointed out, four of these states...