Gay Marriage: Is D.C. Next?
by Paul Johnson
365Gay.com Newscenter
Washington Bureau Chief



Posted: February 28, 2004 12:01 a.m. ET

(Washington, D.C.) Same-sex marriage may be come coming to George W. Bush's own front door.

District of Columbia City Administrator Robert Bobb said Friday that officials are looking into whether the city can legally perform same-sex marriages.

Interviewed on Georgetown University radio station WAMU, Bobb said that Mayor Anthony Williams has asked the Corporation Counsel to look into the legal and constitutional issues.

The city already has a domestic partners law on the books, but Williams came out last week in favor of same-sex marriage. Williams said he is "on record as far back as the 1998 campaign in recognizing that marriage ought to apply to everybody."

Asked about the President's backing on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, the mayor says he's glad Congress cleared the way for the District to implement its domestic partners program in early 2001. The city's health department has been issuing domestic partner registration certificates since July of 2002.

In the two weeks since San Francisco began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples nearly 4,000 couples have married, the most notable being Rosie and Kelli O'Donnell on Thursday. (story)

On Friday the mayor of a small village north of New York City performed more than twenty marriages for same-sex couples. (story) Last week a suburb of Phoenix issued marriage licenses to about about 100 gay and lesbian couples before the state Attorney General put a stop to it. (story). Chicago's mayor Daley has also said he would not object to same-sex marriages in the Windy City.

In May same-sex marriage will be legal in Massachusetts. (story)