Defending Marriage in D.C.

UPDATE: January 14, 2010 - Another 10 members of Congress have signed on to our amicus brief in defense of marriage.  The names are posted below.  The additions to the brief, which is posted here, bring to 49 the number of members of Congress who are represented in our brief.  (3 Senators and 46 members of the House of Representatives)

January 6, 2010:  We have just filed an important amicus brief in defense of marriage. This time the venue is the District of Columbia, where the city council has authorized same-sex marriages.  In our brief, we're representing members of Congress in a very significant legal challenge.

A group of citizens has applied for the right for D.C. residents to vote on an initiative to halt same-sex marriages in D.C.  However, the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics has wrongly rejected that application. 

The D.C. residents have filed suit to challenge the Boards ruling, and the ACLJ with the support of 39 members of Congress has filed an amicus brief with the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in support of the citizens asking the court to reverse the decision of the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics.

Our brief asks the court to overrule the Board of Elections and Ethics, and to allow the D.C. citizens an opportunity to make their voice heard in this process. 

You can read our amicus brief here.  The names of the original 39 members of Congress who signed on to our brief are listed on the cover page of the brief itself.  The additional 10 members of Congress who signed on to our brief are listed below:

U.S. Senator Sam Brownback, and U.S. Representatives Mary Fallin, Trent Franks, Ralph Hall, Duncan Hunter, Dan Lungren, Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise, Lamar Smith and Lynn Westmoreland.

As the national debate over same-sex marriage continues, this case in D.C. is certain to receive a lot of attention.