In rejecting an appeal from gay
marriage foes hoping to put the District of Columbia's gay marriage
law up for a vote, the Supreme Court has “violated” the rights of
children, a Catholic group argues.
On Tuesday, the court announced without
comment that it would not hear Bishop Harry Jackson's challenge to a
D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics ruling that said putting the
question of marriage up for a vote would violate the city's Human
Rights Act (HRA) that prohibits discrimination based on sexual
orientation. In rejecting the referendum, the board said it would,
if approved, authorize “discrimination in contravention of the
HRA.”
Opponents had argued that the board
overstepped its authority and that the citizens should have final say
on such matters.
Jackson and his supporters took their
case to the Supreme Court after the D.C. Court of Appeals said that
the board was within the law in making such a decision. Jackson, a
minister at the Hope Christian Church in Belstville, said the court's
split decision (5 to 4) gave him reason to hope.
The socially conservative group
Catholics for the Common Good chided the court for effectively
upholding the board's decision.
“It is shocking that the U.S. Supreme
Court did not accept the appeal of District of Columbia citizens who
were deprived of their right to vote on the definition of marriage,”
the group said.
“Already, 41% of children born today
are deprived of a mother and father who have first chosen to make
themselves irreplaceable to each through marriage.”
“This is a human tragedy and a
violation of the rights of the child,” the group added.