Jordan Says Conservative Caucus Will Push D.C. Marriage Ban; LCR, HRC Push Back
This morning, The Hill reported that the chairman of the influential conservative Republican Study Committee, which boasts 175 members, plans to introduce legislation “that would ban gay marriage in the nation’s capital” — prompting a rebuke from a gay Republican group.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who pushed a similar measure in the 111th Congress, told The Hill that he’s a strong supporter of the effort, which would be unlikely to be voted on or passed in the Senate or to be signed by President Barack Obama.
Jordan, nonetheless, told The Hill, “I think RSC will push for it, and I’m certainly strongly for it. I don’t know if we’ve made a decision if I’ll do it or let another member do it, but I’m 100 percent for it”
R. Clarke Cooper, the executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, opposed the effort — also strongly.
“While Log Cabin Republicans support Chairman Jordan’s efforts to rein in government spending, we strongly protest a House vote that would be a direct incursion on state’s rights,” Cooper told Metro Weekly. “For the House of Representatives to roll back D.C. marriage equality would be an anti-conservative expansion of federal authority.”
Human Rights Campaign spokesman Michael Cole-Schwartz told Metro Weekly, “It’s too bad that right out of the gate, congressmen who called for less government are seeking to impose a federal mandate on D.C.’s local affairs.
“After an overwhelming vote by their city council, the District now welcomes all loving couples into the institution of marriage,” Cole-Schwartz wrote. “The American people are certainly not clamoring for Congress to deny rights to people.”
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) was unavailable for comment, according to her press office.
[Photo: Jordan]
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