Superior Court Judge Denies Gay Marriage Referendum

Judge Judith Retchin has ruled [PDF] that a referendum on recognizing out-of-state gay marriages may not proceed.

Retchin was widely expected to ignore the substance of the referendum proponents' argument---i.e., that the District's human rights law does not, in fact, prevent the measure from appearing on the ballot, as the Board of Elections and Ethics ruled earlier this month. Instead, she was expected to rule only on whether she could stop the marriage law from taking effect next week---an important question, since that would prevent a referendum and render any other legal arguments moot.

But her ruling is broad.

Read More "Superior Court Judge Denies Gay Marriage Referendum" »