Same-Sex Marriage Takes the Spotlight in Forum

Capital Pride, the annual gay and lesbian celebration that mixes high-minded dialogue with dance parties, began a week's worth of events last night with a "town hall" meeting that focused on such topics as same-sex marriage and faith.

Six panelists fielded questions from moderator Jason Bellini and members of an 80-person audience at the Studio Theatre in Northwest Washington.

Four of the panelists are openly gay elected officials -- two serve on the D.C. Council, one in the Virginia House of Delegates and one in the Maryland House of Delegates.

Same-sex marriage came up frequently in the discussion.

"I think we are at the point in the District of Columbia where we need to move forward on the marriage issue," said D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1). Graham later said that he planned to introduce a bill in the next two years for the city to recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions.

But first, Graham said, he wants Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) to release a legal opinion on whether the District recognizes same-sex marriages officiated in other states. Former D.C. attorney general Robert Spagnoletti, who served in the Anthony A. Williams administration, prepared an opinion, but it was never made public.

Efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in the District have been highly controversial. Some gay and lesbian activists have said they fear advocacy could bring a congressional backlash. Graham, who has expressed such concerns in the past, said that the majority-Democratic Congress has changed his outlook.

The sensitivity and complexity of the issue were also highlighted by the answers of Virginia Del. Adam P. Ebbin (D-Alexandria) and Maryland Del. Heather R. Mizeur (D-Montgomery).

Mizeur said that a ruling by the Maryland Court of Appeals in a same-sex marriage case is imminent and that she is hopeful about the outcome.

In Virginia, Ebbin said, the fight for marriage equality and equality for gay men and lesbians in general is much more of a long-term battle. He spoke about a bill in the last legislative session that tried to restrict gay and straight clubs in schools by requiring parental consent.

One parent who testified for the bill "thought her daughter would succumb to peer pressure and join one of these clubs," Ebbin said as several members of the audience chuckled.

Events focused more on parties and celebration are scheduled for later this week, culminating in the Capital Pride Parade on Saturday evening and a street festival on Pennsylvania Avenue NW on Sunday afternoon.