If the Washington D.C. City Council approves a measure extending marriage benefits to gays and lesbians next month, thousands of residents might find themselves at a loss for assistance with adoption, homelessness and health care.
According to an article in today’s Washington Post, the legislation would prohibit discrimination because of sexual orientation. Catholic church officials fear they would, among other things, be required to extend employment benefits to gays and lesbians, and social services maintained by Catholic organizations in the nation’s capitol cease if the Council passes this legislation.
“If the city requires this, we can’t do it,” Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, told the Post Wednesday. “The city is saying in order to provide social services, you need to be secular. For us, that’s really a problem.”
Read the article here.
— Adam Griffiths
