Perhaps the most compelling conservative argument in favor of gay marriage is financial — let the gays marry and the pink dollars will come a-rollin’ in. So when bicycle theft victim and D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty signed the city’s gay marriage bill into law, he became the golden boy of both the business and gay communities. Right? Nah, life’s not that easy.
Mayor Fenty didn’t do the heavy lifting for the gay marriage bill he famously signed into law, argues DC-based activist Lane Hudson. Fenty didn’t issue an order for D.C. to recognize out-of-state gay marriages, something within his power to do. When the City Council voted to do it three years later, Fenty, when quizzed on whether he’d fight a Congressional veto, said “it depends.” And Fenty didn’t attend a the Council’s huge hearing in support of the gay marriage bill before signing it into law. And let’s not forget his erroneously awarding a Certificate of Appreciation to ex-gay group PFOX.
For Hudson, signing the marriage bill doesn’t excuse Fenty’s absence of leadership on a whole host of other LGBT issues in the city. He slashed funding for a permanent home for DC’s LGBT Center; ignored “his No. 1 health priority” of addressing D.C.’s highest ever HIV infection rates; hasn’t addressed “the equitable treatment of transgender people in D.C. jails, the unnecessarily delayed implementation of a comprehensive anti-bullying program in schools, or the long the housing waiting list for AIDS patients.” After three and a half years in office, he hasn’t even ever held a single LGBT town hall meeting.
And even the one mark Fenty scores well on — signing his name on the marriage bill — might not have done alot for the business community either, Washington City Paper reports.
When same-sex marriage became law in March, D.C. Councilmembers hoped the change would drum up $5 million in tax revenue and 700 jobs for the District. A 2009 report from UCLA’s Williams Institute, which studies sexual-orientation law, predicted that the legalization would inspire more than 14,000 such marriages in three years, and that the price tags for those weddings—on everything from flowers to court fees—would boost the economy to the tune of $52.2 million in that time alone.
But any D.C. vendors looking to make a buck off the gay wedding boom may find it’s short-lived, adds WCP: “When same-sex marriage was legalized in Massachusetts, weddings dropped precipitously after the first year. The UCLA report predicted that the economic impact in D.C. would wane with each passing year.”
Furthermore, a good number of gay couples — who might have gotten married years ago were it legal — are opting for smaller, less lavish ceremonies, possibly a result of the recession, or possibly because they grew tired of waiting, had their big events already, and scoring legal recognition of a spouse is now just a formality.
Cam
Fenty was the only candidate for Mayor in 2006 who came out in support of Gay Marriage, he said long before a bill was voted on that he would sign a marriage bill as soon as it came though the council, and when he did sign it, he took the fight right to the religeous bigots and signed it in a church. Additionally he gave a pretty moving speech and compared the struggle for gay marriage to the struggle his parents had to go through as an interacial couple. I’m not sure who on Queerty’s staff doesn’t like the guy, but if the White House were half as supportive of gay rights as Fenty DADT and DOMA would already be gone.
Tommy
No one who lives in DC likes Fenty. He is very good on gay issues. I have to give him that. But as a person he is incredibly arrogant and full of himself. He doesn’t know how to play nicely with others, which is very important as a politician.
Most of the time he is more interested in competing in triathlons than running the city.
He is also very insensitive and seemingly unconcerned with people of a lower economic level.
Jesse Helms
Fenty is on the down low and he beats his wife Michelle Fenty. The Fourth District former Commander Cathy Lanier now Police Chief cover the domestic violence up.
Fenty is another gay Negro living on the down low and a Kappa.
DC Resident
The second picture on here is in Portugal, not DC. I mean, it clearly involves gay marriage and whatnot, but white building+columns doesn’t equal DC. C’mon Queerty! That and Fenty sucks.
Jesse Helms
Oops. There I go again. The truth is I fantasize about his long, gleaming, Black cock invading my saggy old White ass as he makes me call him Papi. But it’s so hard to get hot Black cock when my ass droops and fart bubbles are constantly emitted from my loose buttocks. Sigh, I guess I can always write nasty comments in the hope somebody is paying me attention. Wait…did I write all this or did I think it???
Cam
@Tommy:
Gee, lets see, Crime is down, and school scores and testing results are up not only for the first time in around 40 years, but DC was the only major metropolitan area to have it’s schools scores rise. But gee, he doesn’t spend all his time schmoozing and kissing ass like Marion Barry did. Well how good was that for the city?