Bishop Harry Jackson is at it again trying to ban same-sex couples from marrying in the District of Columbia. He failed in his earlier attempt to put DC’s equal marriage recognition law up to voters and now he’s submitted paperwork [pdf] with the District’s Board of Elections and Ethics to try to place an initiative on the ballot to define same-sex couples out of marriage. Since earlier this year the Board and a court ruled that the referendum would be an unlawful violation of the city’s Human Rights Act, it’s unclear how this new initiative would be able to clear that same hurdle. HRC released the following statement on the matter:
Under D.C. law, a proposed referendum or initiative is impermissible if its subject matter violates the D.C. Human Rights Act. In June, the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics held a public hearing and ruled that Bishop Harry Jackson Jr.’s proposed referendum, which sought to ban recognition of same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions, would have the effect of violating the D.C. Human Rights Act, which, among other things, prohibits the government from denying services or benefits based on an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Bishop Jackson filed suit, and a D.C. Superior Court judge determined that the Board of Elections and Ethics ruled properly that the proposed referendum would violate the D.C. Human Rights Act.
Despite these rulings, Bishop Jackson is trying again with another initiative to prohibit same-sex marriages in D.C. The proposed initiative would amend D.C. law to provide that “only marriage between a man a woman is valid or recognized in D.C.” While Bishop Jackson is free to suggest any initiative he would like, we are confident that the Board and the courts will once again rule that, under D.C. law, the initiative process cannot be used as a tool to discriminate and strip away civil rights.
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Bishop Harry Jackson is at it again trying to ban same-sex couples from marrying in the District of Columbia. He 
