Gray foresees same-sex marriages

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By Sarah Abruzzese

D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray said he thinks the council will pass a bill this year allowing same-sex marriages to be performed in the District and he doesn't think the issue needs to be put before voters.

Mr. Gray said he's been unwavering in his support for same-sex marriage, an issue he expects will be passed along lines similar to previous votes on the subject. And when it does come before the council, Mr. Gray said the members are capable and empowered to handle the question.

"We are the elected representatives of the people," he told editors and reporters at The Washington Times this week. "I think we are perfectly capable of making an informed decision on this issue. We make important decisions every day on how this city is run. And that is what the people elect us to do, and I believe we are perfectly capable of making an informed decision on this issue as well. I believe the council ought to act as a legislative body on this piece of legislation and move it forward or not move it forward whatever the vote is."

The city has recognized same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions since early July. That bill became law after the council passed it by a 12-to-1 vote and a congressionally mandated 30-day review period expired.

Mr. Gray said he was unsure whether Congress would intervene to block a bill allowing same-sex marriages to be performed in the nation's capital.

"I don't know," he said. "I suppose it would become an issue. People perceive that as having some precedential value in other places, either to, if they think it would - for their purposes anyway - start an avalanche of support in other places, or [that] stopping it here would somehow have the value of stopping it elsewhere."

A group of residents has made two attempts to put the matter to a public vote.

Asked if same-sex marriage would survive a referendum vote Mr. Gray said, " I don't know. I have no idea."

But he does see widespread support for the law.

Despite the high-profile nature of the debate, he said it is not a popular topic of discussion in community meetings that he attends around the city.

There are 3,839 same-sex couples residing in the District, according to 2005-2007 U.S. Census Bureau data. Nearly 8.1 percent of the city's total adult population, or 33,000 people, in 2005 were gay, lesbian and bisexual people - single and coupled.

Discussions about his support for same-sex marriage aren't new for Mr. Gray, who is mulling a run in 2010 against Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. When running for chairman in 2006, Mr. Gray talked to a group of Baptist ministers who have been vocal in their disapproval of the plan.

"It is not comfortable to sit in a room where you know the answer you are about to give is not going to be very popular," Mr. Gray said.

"The reality is that I was unequivocal in my support for it and it was not a comfortable feeling, frankly, to have to say to people that I really care about that my position is different than yours on this issue," Mr. Gray said.

Regardless, Mr. Gray said he will support the move.

"This is one of those where I believe this is the right thing to do. I'm hard-pressed to see the harm this is doing to me personally," Mr. Gray said. "This is a step that I support and I'm prepared to stand up and say it wherever it needs to be said, and I'm prepared to deal with the consequences that come with that."