Washington, D.C. Council Overwhelmingly Passes Bill in Support of the Freedom to Marry

A Year of Great Advances Ends with Yet Another Step Forward & Continued Momentum into 2010

Freedom to Marry Statement
December 15, 2009

Statement by Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry and author of Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality and Gay People's Right to Marry, following the District of Columbia City Council's second and final 11-2 vote in support of the freedom to marry:

"Today Washington, DC's elected representatives voted to end the denial of the freedom to marry in our Nation's Capital, amid the cheers of a majority of DC residents and a surge of hope and happiness from the families who will be helped, even as no one is hurt. Five of seven African-American city council members on the majority African-American council supported the freedom to marry, and Mayor Adrian Fenty, also African-American, has promised to sign the bill. Washington's home-rule vote for the freedom to marry builds on the Golden Rule, treating committed gay couples and their families as each of us wants our loved ones to be treated in a country based on liberty and justice for all."

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