D.C. likely to get same-sex marriage in January

Same-sex marriage is expected to become legal in the District of Columbia in January.

The bill to legalize it passed the D.C. Council’s Committee on Public Safety & Judiciary on Nov. 10 and now heads to the full Council where 10 of the 13 members are cosponsors of the measure. A full Council vote is expected Dec. 1.

Mayor Adrian Fenty has said he will sign the bill into law.

At that point, the bill will advance to the U.S. Congress for a 30-day review period. Congress is not expected to make any move to block the bill’s becoming law.

In New York, meanwhile, Gov. David Paterson said Nov. 10 that the state Senate will vote before year’s end on the bill to legalize same-sex marriage there. The measure already passed the Assembly and, should it pass the Senate, Paterson plans to sign it into law. At press time, it was not clear if there are enough yes votes in the 62-member Senate.

In New Jersey, there is a scramble to pass a same-sex marriage bill before Gov. Jon Corzine, who supports same-sex marriage, leaves office in January. Corzine lost his re-election bid Nov. 3 to Chris Christie, who opposes same-sex marriage.

Reports say a vote in the Legislature would be close. Although both the Assembly and Senate have Democratic majorities, not every Democrat would vote for same-sex marriage and the bill needs some Republican support.

By Rex Wockner