Yesterday, the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics ruled that the ballot initiative being pushed by Harry Jackson and company seeking to prevent marriage equality in the district would not be placed on the ballot.
Today, the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit on Jackson’s behalf:
Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit Wednesday against the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics for precluding the right of citizens in the district to vote for or against the definition of marriage. The board determined Tuesday that a citizen initiative that would allow voters to either uphold or reject the longstanding definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman is not a proper subject for the ballot because of a law passed by the D.C. Council. ADF and Stand4MarriageDC attorneys argue that the board’s reasoning is invalid.
“The people of D.C. have a right to vote on the definition of marriage,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Austin R. Nimocks. “The D.C. Charter guarantees the people the right to vote, and the council cannot amend the charter for any reason, much less to deny citizens the right to vote. ADF will defend the right of the residents of our nation’s capitol to participate in a legitimate democratic process in the district.”
…
ADF attorneys represent Bishop Harry Jackson, who heads the Marriage Initiative of 2009 effort, and seven other D.C. registered voters in the lawsuit, Jackson v. District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics, filed with the Superior Court for the District of Columbia.
It’s too bad that this happened after the Washington Post’s deadline, because the paper could have ignored this further evidence of Jackson’s ties to militantly anti-gay Religious Right organizations as well in the puff piece that ran in today’s paper.
