FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MARCH 3, 2010

CONTACT: Elizabeth Ray, x130 or Mary Beth Hutchins, x105 at 703-683-5004

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MARRIAGE ENCOURAGED BY JUSTICE ROBERTS’ COMMENT IN COURT RULING; VOWS TO PRESS FOR PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO VOTE ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

“While same-sex marriages will be permitted in the District for the time being, NOM will continue to fight to get an initiative on the ballot to restore marriage to what it has always been – the union of one man and one woman.”
- Brian Brown, Executive Director, NOM -

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Today, Brian Brown, Executive Director for the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), issued the following statement:

“It is very disappointing that voters in the District of Columbia have been precluded from exercising their constitutional right to a referendum so that they could decide for themselves whether the Council’s act to redefine marriage should be allowed to stand. However, this battle is far from over. While same-sex marriages will be permitted in the District for the time being, NOM will continue to fight to get an initiative on the ballot to restore marriage to what it has always been – the union of one man and one woman. Our legal case to secure the right to initiative is pending in the DC Court of Appeals and we are confident of eventual victory. The DC Council has erected an illegal barrier to the people’s initiative right by attempting to use the Human Rights Act to prohibit a marriage initiative in violation of the District Charter, the constitutional framework governing the District of Columbia. While Chief Justice John Roberts did not grant our request for an injunction to allow a referendum, he did specifically state that our argument “has some force” and could be pursued in the initiative case. We will do just that, so that the people of the District of Columbia can – as voters in 31 states have done – decide for themselves the definition of marriage.”

To schedule an interview with Brian Brown, Executive Director for the National Organization for Marriage, please contact Elizabeth Ray, eray@crcpublicrelations.com, (x130) or Mary Beth Hutchins, mhutchins@crcpublicrelations.com, (x105) at 703-683-5004.

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