The District of Columbia may be a few Senators short of statehood, but it’s close to securing some other rights for its citizens, D.C. Council member David Catania says. At Saturday’s 2008 GLBT Economic Development Summit, Catania “reaffirmed that a same-sex marriage bill will be introduced to the Council in January, and that he is sure it will pass,” DCist reports. In an interview, Catania said that “[m]any of us on the Council believe that there is no better time that exists than now.”

Bills passed by the D.C. Council are subject to Congressional review. Though some saw the passage of Prop 8 as an indication of how Congress would act on future gay marriage initiatives, Cantania says he’s confident that the Council will pass a measure in January, and that the then largely Democratic Congress will
approve the bill sometime next year.

Photo of Chicago Prop 8 protest by Grant Gochnauer.