The 50 Spot: Same-Sex Marriage in the District?

Wouldn't it be ironic if the seat of the federal government - the District of Columbia - recognized same-sex marriage, while the federal government itself continued to ban it?  It could happen, with an email apparently making the rounds that says one D.C. city council member plans to introduce a marriage equality bill in April.  Moving outside the Beltway, we've also got news this morning from New York City about same-sex parents and birth certificates, as well as the launch of a new organization in California meant to bolster LGBT rights in the Inland area.  More below....

District of Columbia: The Washington Blade is reporting that an email bouncing around D.C.-area religious leaders suggests that city council member David Catania may introduce a marriage equality bill in April, that would make the District of Columbia next in line to recognize same-sex marriage.  Catania, according to the email, is looking for support among the city's religious leaders, since he expects opposition from many conservative religious groups, as well as prominent anti-LGBT members of the U.S. Congress, who may seek to invoke congressional authority to overturn any potential D.C. marriage legislation.

New York: Married lesbian couples can now legally be put on the birth certificates of their children in New York City without the hassle of a court hearing.  The NYC Board of Health approved the measure yesterday, putting NYC in line with an order from NY Gov. David Paterson to recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages.  Until now, according to silive.com, "married same-sex couples — male and female — have been able to list both spouses on a city birth certificate only after going through the monthslong legal adoption process, then filling out a special form to get a new birth certificate."  The ruling from the NYC Board of Health changes this policy for lesbian married couples only; men will still have to petition the court for birth certificate recognition on their children's certificates.

California: One of the concerns expressed after November's disastrous Prop 8 vote was that more field work needed to be done in the Inland area of California.  That idea has led to the birth of a new group of LGBT rights supporters, Equality Inland Empire, to increase visibility of LGBT issues.  According to Alison Bowen, a co-founder of the group, "Sometimes the larger community doesn't think there are gay and lesbian organizations and individuals in more conservative areas like the Inland Empire. What ends up happening is that people start believing all of the stereotypes, that we are all in San Francisco and Los Angeles, so they don't need to deal with issues that affect gay and lesbian people. There are lots of us here, but we are more scattered."  Bowen is right - the more cracks that are made in areas like Inland Empire, the less likely it will be that legislation like Prop 8 will find the traction they need to become law.