Having lost in their attempt to obtain a referendum (see prior posting), opponents of Washington, D.C.'s new law recognizing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere filed an initiative petition in September. The Marriage Initiative would provide that only a marriage between a man and a woman would be recognized in D.C. In an order issued on Tuesday, In Re: Marriage Initiative of 2009, (DC Bd. Elec. & Ethics, Nov. 17, 2009), the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics ruled that because the initiative would violate the D.C. Human Rights Act, under D.C.'s Initiative, Referendum and Recall Procedures Act it was required to reject the initiative petition.
Yesterday, several proponents of the initiative filed suit seeking court review of the Election Board's ruling. The complaint (full text) in Jackson v. District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics, (DC Super. Ct., filed 11/18/2009), challenges the restriction in D.C. law that precludes using the initiative for any measure that would authorize discrimination in violation of the Human Rights Act. It also argues that the Initiative does not violate the HRA. Alliance Defense Fund issued a release announcing that the appeal had been filed.
