D.C. Ties the Knot but Leaves Voters Unraveled

The D.C. Superior Court is less than a five-block walk from the U.S. Capitol, but the distance between them was supposed to be far greater on the issue of same-sex "marriage." In the three months since the District City Council blew by voters and redefined marriage, locals have held out hope that Congress would intervene. But time is ticking on the 30-day review process, and Democratic leaders have yet to raise a peep of protest about a law that directly defies their Defense of Marriage Act.

Although there is a legitimate dispute over when the city's bill takes effect, the D.C. Superior Court is moving ahead with its grand opening for "marriage" applications on Wednesday. Officials there expect a "flood of same-sex couples" at the courthouse tomorrow when they offer homosexual licenses for the first time. To accommodate the shift, the office refused to wait for Congress and instead went ahead with overhauling the court applications. Every reference to "bride and groom" has been scrubbed in favor of gender-neutral terms like "spouse."

According to the Washington Post, couples will have to wait three business days for courts to process the paperwork, meaning that the soonest homosexuals can "marry" is one week from today. But don't count your weddings before they're hatched! Our friends at the Alliance Defense Fund are already on the move to block the law--even if Congress won't. This week, attorneys are filing an injunction with the U.S. Supreme Court until D.C. voters have the opportunity to exercise their rights. Until then, D.C.'s Catholic Charities is one of many organizations who are dealing with the internal fallout from the bill.

In addition to shutting down its foster care program, leaders had to make the difficult decision to change their health care policy to protect the organization from officials who might force them to offer the same coverage to same-sex couples. It was an act of self-defense in a town where more charities will have to choose between their values and their workers' well-being. Over in neighboring Maryland, the same-sex "marriage" campaign seems to be a coordinated effort. Days earlier, Attorney General Doug Gansler (D) tried to throw open the backdoor to counterfeit marriage in his state by declaring that Maryland would suddenly recognize homosexual unions from D.C. and elsewhere. That was news to the legislature, under whose authority a law like this must be passed. While Maryland is traditionally one of the most liberal states in the union, Gansler's overreach was met with surprising hostility from minority voters, who tend to be more socially conservative. Tomorrow, FRC Senior Fellow Peter Sprigg will be in Annapolis to testify on behalf of a bill that would overturn Gansler's opinion.

Hall-of-Famer Throws Curve Ball on Jobs Bill

With an approval rating that barely cracks 10%--the lowest ever recorded by Rasmussen--one would think that Congress would get the message on the federal debt. Americans are just a quarter of the way into the stimulus spending, but Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is already moving on to the next boondoggle--a "jobs" bill that would cost upwards of $100 billion. Before he can push the permanent plan, Democrats are demanding that the Senate pass a $10 billion short-term fix that would renew programs for federal workers. Not so fast, said Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), who objects to tackling another project without identifying a source to pay for it. Under the PAYGO rules--statutes that the Democrats demanded when they took the reins of power--Congress is required to have the money on hand to fund new projects.

Sen. Bunning has made it clear his problem is not with the programs themselves as much as the principles involved. Like others, he wants to expose the hypocrisy of these measures. "The idea of buying only the things you can actually pay for hasn't been a big seller in Washington," Fox News explained. "And right now, one Republican Senator is catching all kinds of grief for taking a position that millions of American families live by." To the leadership's displeasure, and with little support in his own caucus, Sen. Bunning single-handedly blocked the $10 billion extension last week, causing consternation for congressional liberals. Instead of authorizing new funds to pay for the legislation, he suggests that Democrats dip into their existing stimulus dollars. It's not a bad idea. When push comes to shove, maybe more Senators would choose unemployment benefits over the Philadelphia clown ballet--one of the "vital" projects funded under this current stimulus.

** Last night in Nashville, I had the privilege of speaking to several hundred people about the relationship between public policy and Christian media at the annual convention of the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB). Dr. Dobson kindly introduced me as a keynote speaker, and I spoke about the march of the Left to silence the voice of Christians. For more than 65 years, NRB has been the premiere association of Christian communicators. If you'd like to know more about FRC's on-air presence, I encourage you to visit FRC Radio, where you can listen to our daily commentaries and our flagship show, Washington Watch Weekly. **