Same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia

[1][2] The District of Columbia was the first jurisdiction in the United States below the Mason–Dixon line to allow same-sex couples to marry.

[3] In addition to recognizing same-sex marriages, the District has also allowed residents to enter into registered domestic partnerships since 2002.

[6] The original bill establishing domestic partnerships in the District of Columbia was known as the Health Benefits Expansion Act.

Every year between 1992 and 2002, the Republican leadership of the U.S. Congress added a rider to the District of Columbia appropriations bill that prohibited the use of federal or local funds to implement the Act.

[7] The law was finally implemented in 2002, a fiscal year, after Congress failed to add the rider to the appropriations bill.

However, it does not extend most benefits of civil marriage to domestic partners, such as the marital estate tax deduction.

[18] On June 13, the Board of Elections ruled that a petition seeking to repeal the law and delay its enactment until a vote was held in a referendum would be invalid as it would violate provisions of the Human Rights Act, which specifically disallow the public's voting against several protected classes—one being, sexual orientation.

She also agreed with the Board's decision that allowing a vote on the issue would violate the Human Rights Act.

[19] D.C. Councilman David Catania introduced the Religious Freedom And Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act 2009 on October 6, 2009, to allow same-sex couples to marry in the District.

The bill received Mayor Fenty's signature on December 18 and had to survive a 30-day congressional review period before becoming law.

Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend were the first couple to marry on Tuesday morning, March 9 at the headquarters of the Human Rights Campaign.

[DC Code § 46-401]On March 25, 2010, during debate on a health care bill, the U.S. Senate defeated an attempt by Utah Senator Bob Bennett to "suspend the issuance of marriage licenses to any couple of the same sex until the people of the District of Columbia have the opportunity to hold a referendum or initiative on the question".

[29][30] Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr., the pastor of the Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Maryland, sued the District after the Board of Elections refused to approve a ballot initiative on the issue of same-sex marriage.

[35] A 2009 study from the University of California, Los Angeles concluded that extending marriage to same-sex couples would boost the District of Columbia's economy by over $52.2 million over three years, which would generate increases in local government tax and fee revenues by $5.4 million and create approximately 700 new jobs.

[41] The 2017 Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) poll found that 78% of District of Columbia residents supported same-sex marriage, while 17% were opposed and 5% were unsure.