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This has to be some sort of milestone for the gay rights movement. Marion Barry, who cast one of the two D.C. Council votes against gay marriage in 2009, now tells LL he’s looking to officiate a gay wedding.
Barry and the 12 other members of the Council received the power to officiate weddings yesterday when Mayor Vince Gray signed the Marriage Officiant Amendment Act. The original version of the bill, introduced by Tommy Wells, allowed the mayor to marry people while also making it possible for anyone else to apply to officiate a single wedding.
Filing paperwork every time he needed to marry someone didn’t work for Barry, though. He successfully lobbied for councilmembers to receive the same permanent officiating powers.
“I’m in the process of finding a gay couple,” Barry tells LL. So if you’re gay and looking to get hitched, get in touch with the mayor-for-life.
Photo by Darrow Montgomery