Washington D.C., Feb 25, 2010 / 04:24 am
Opponents of a Washington, D.C. same-sex “marriage” law are appealing a court order that denied a motion to prevent the law from going into effect.
The attorneys filing the appeal represent registered voters such as Bishop Harry Jackson, the senior pastor of Hope Christian Church, the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) reports. Opponents of the law say that 59 percent of registered voters in the District want to vote on the new City Council law that changes the legal definition of marriage.
“The people have a right to have the final say on any law regarding marriage passed by the D.C. Council. The D.C. Charter makes that right clear, and officials should not be ignoring the right of the people to vote for or against the new definition of marriage fabricated by the council,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Austin R. Nimocks.
Nimocks said the redefinition of marriage should not go into effect “until voters have the opportunity to vote on a critical matter that affects everyone in the District.”
Jackson and seven other registered voters filed a referendum with the Board of Elections and Ethics to secure a vote. The board rejected the proposed referendum, saying it violated the District’s human rights laws.
The attorneys appealing the case are from the ADF and Stand4MarriageDC.
The law will take effect on March 3 unless Congress disapproves it or the appellate court grants the motion to stop it from taking effect.
The D.C. same-sex “marriage” law purported to protect religious freedom, but its provisions have already helped force Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington to shut down its 80-year-old foster care and public adoption program.