In honor of the fact I FINALLY saw the movie this weekend. And only liked 70% of it.

There’s a new, crisp smell in the air—is it fall? Or perhaps the first whiff of bipartisanship in the health care debate? Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine has finally been wooed to the, um, dark side—depending on your point of view—and along with 13 Democrats helped President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority clear a key Senate panel. Her rousing battle cry was straight from the mouth of Gandalf the Grey: “When history calls, history calls.”

A police officer on horseback was attacked yesterday by “at least 20 dogs” at Fort Dupont Park in Southeast, according to WUSA. The woman responsible for the dogs was taken into custody for letting them roam free. And for being a fugitive. Which might possibly explain why she had twenty dogs. That, or they were all Ringwraiths working for Sauron. Your call. Read More "Our Morning Roundup: The 70 Percent Lord of the Rings Edition" »

In this week's column, LL spun a scenario whereby the D.C. Council might approve a same-sex-marriage referendum. That best-case hypothetical situation for gay-marriage opponents, LL wrote, would be if "Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr., on the hot seat with an election a year off, convinces Chairman Vincent C. Gray and at-largers Michael Brown and Kwame Brown to join him, Yvette Alexander, and Marion Barry."

Not so fast! Gloria Murry Ford, a staffer for Michael Brown, called LL yesterday to protest mightily that her boss would never ever consider compromising on such a key civil-rights issue. Not even in some harebrained hypothetical scenario! Never!

Duly noted. And, it should be said that Kwame Brown is signed on as a co-sponsor of the marriage bill, and Gray is not only a co-sponsor, but offered strongly pro-marriage-equality comments in a Washington Times interview earlier this week.

So that leaves Alexander, Barry, and Thomas.

Read More "Michael Brown Stands for Gay Marriage; Yvette Alexander Does Not" »

In his column this week, LL makes a case for why supporters of gay marriage in the District should embrace the idea of a ballot initiative. Right now, the orthodoxy among marriage equality advocates is that such matters of civil rights should never be put up for a vote. That's a principle that's hard to dispute. LL, however, sees an exception where civil rights would win big, and where pounding the opposition into dust would not only feel really good but also advance other political objectives.

Still, you may ask: Why is LL so convinced that gay marriage would win big?

There's polls, you see: A July poll of registered Democrats in three wards conducted by leading business types showed 77 percent support for gay marriage. Then there's another, lesser known poll that's been whispered about for months among local same-sex-marriage advocates---a poll that the Human Rights Campaign, national advocacy group, had conducted in the spring showing upwards of 65 percent support citywide, LL is told by multiple sources. That's landslide territory.

Read More "D.C. Gay Marriage Polling: Some Thoughts" »

If you're a same-sex couple married legally in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Iowa, California (in the months it was permitted), or in other countries, congratulations: The District of Columbia now considers you to be married, too.

At this minute, a 30-day congressional review period has expired, and you're now free to enjoy all the rights and responsibilities of civil marriage in the District. (That includes divorce, incidentally.)

If you're looking to celebrate, the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club tonight is hosting a "Road to Equality Happy Hour" at Halo in Dupont Circle, 6 to 9 p.m.

Now look for the real fight to begin---over performing same-sex marriages in the District. At-Large Councilmember David Catania is all but certain to introduce a bill permitting that in the fall; opponents are likely to pursue a ballot initiative, which will end up being adjudicated by the D.C. Court of Appeals.

Expect to hear a lot about the "Amtrak argument"---if all couples have to do is take a train to Connecticut or Massachusetts to get married, why not just let them marry here?

The next local election day might be some 15 months off, but Saturday's Capital Pride parade still had a political charge---mostly due to the recent heat on gay marriage, but also thanks to a mayoral campaign kicking into full gear and possible council challenger in the mix.

LL was there with camera. Behold!

Read More "LL’s 2009 Capital Pride Reviewing Stand" »

LL just got off the phone with Kenneth McGhie, general counsel for the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics.

Those of you expecting a late-Friday announcement on whether or not a referendum will be allowed on the District law recognizing out-of-state same-sex marriages: Don't hold your breath.

"Doesn't look like it's going to be today," McGhie says.

Read More "No Gay-Marriage Referendum Decision Today" »

Bishop Harry Jackson, leading opponent of gay marriage in the District, entered the No-Spin Zone this evening.

Jackson was featured in a five-minute segment midway through the O'Reilly Factor, as proof, according to host Bill O'Reilly, of "the staggering hypocrisy of the left and media that enables the far left to do these things."

Some backstory: On June 5, Lou Chibbaro Jr. reported in the Washington Blade that Jackson had only recently registered to vote in the District and that he listed his residence as a one-bedroom apartment in the Whitman, a Mount Vernon Square condo building. That, of course, is germane because he is (a) a proponent of a referendum on a District law and (b) required to be a registered District voter to do so. Earlier this week, Chibbaro added to his report, reporting that virtually no one at the condo building had seen Jackson and that Jackson is maintaining his residences in Maryland.

On Wednesday, at a hearing before the Board of Elections and Ethics, Jackson took time to decry the disclosures, calling them a threat to him and his family and an attempt to intimidate him and other same-sex marriage opponents.

On O'Reilly, he continued his protestations.

Read More "Bishop Harry Jackson to Bill O’Reilly: ‘They Hacked Into My Records’" »

The question before the Board of Elections and Ethics today is whether the law passed last month by the D.C. Council recognizing same-sex marriages performed out of state is the proper subject of a referendum. To wit, the main question is whether the bill is covered under the city's longstanding human-rights law, under which sexual orientation is a protected class.

But the debate here, in a packed second-floor hearing room at One Judiciary Square, has not stuck to those parameters.

Read More "Hundreds Watch Gay Marriage Referendum Hearing" »